


20,000 Leagues Into Deep Space

by lindenrosetps



Series: World Gap [1]
Category: Treasure Planet (2002)
Genre: Adventure, Angst, Classics, F/M, Friendship, Jules Verne - Freeform, Sci-Fi, not Jim/OC, space stuff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-08-04
Updated: 2019-08-04
Packaged: 2020-07-30 20:40:04
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 17
Words: 21,941
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20103289
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lindenrosetps/pseuds/lindenrosetps
Summary: It's been a year since the events of Treasure Planet and Jim Hawkins is now a cadet in the Interstellar Academy. But when he comes home to find the Benbow overrun by pirates and an old friend returned, he is plunged into yet another adventure.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Hey, guys! So I've actually had this sitting around on my computer for a while, but I just finished rewriting it and I debated long and hard before posting it. Treasure Planet is one of my favorite movies ever and I'm still salty it didn't get a sequel, so I decided to write my own. Originally, I'd thought about adapting another one of Stevenson's works.  
Then I realized that Jules Verne fits really, really well with the steampunk aesthetic of this universe. And thus 20,000 Leagues Into Deep Space was born. As you might guess, it's loosely adapted from 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea.  
Also, there will be an OC entering in the next chapter. I actually have a version of Treasure Planet with her added in, but I decided that we didn't really need to go over the whole first movie again. The main context for the character is that Starr was with Jim on the Treasure Planet voyage. Before that, she just showed up at the Benbow one day without anyone really knowing who she was or where she came from and Sarah ended up taking her in. She and Jim are meant to have a close, sibling-like/best friends relationship.  
And yes, none of these chapters have consistent lengths. I'm really, really bad about consistent chapter lengths. So apologies in advance for the variations.

Jim breathed a sigh of relief, clutching his bag as he stepped onto the dock. It was good to be home.

He'd never really thought he could miss a rural mining planet like Montressor, but the Interstellar Academy had a way of making him homesick. Sure, it was great. He was doing well and his professors had high hopes that he'd go on to be an excellent spacer one day. He'd even made a few friends, including an Admiral's daughter. But it was also strict and rigid and scheduled. If summer hadn't come, Jim thought he might've gone out of his mind… or done something illegal and gotten kicked out. He couldn't wait to get back on his solar surfer.

Something twittered in his pocket. Jim smiled, reaching in and petting the pink blob. "Almost there, Morph."

Morph chirped again, flying out of the pocket and around Jim's head. Jim chuckled and swatted at him. "Glad to be home?"

Morph nodded eagerly, turning into Sarah Hawkins. Jim laughed, cupping the creature in his hand. "Me too, buddy."

The Benbow Inn, despite its expansions and improvements, still had the same homey, comforting air about it. Jim's face broke into a smile and he raced the last few feet to the doorway, then flung it open. "Mom!"

No answer. Jim frowned, looking around. "Mom? I'm home!"

Morph whimpered, flying about and taking Sarah's form again. "Mom! Mom!" he squeaked.

"Jim?"

Jim whirled around to find his mother standing in the kitchen doorway. She smiled wearily, then rushed forwards and hugged him. "James Pleiades Hawkins! Why didn't you tell me you were coming early?"

Jim hugged her back, frowning. "Mom… it's not early. Is everything alright?"

Sarah pushed him back, holding him at arm's length. She was a mess. Her hair was even more disheveled than usual, her dress and apron were stained, and there were dark circles under her eyes. Jim's frown deepened.

Then, to his alarm, she pulled him close again and started to cry.

"Mom! You're scaring me. What's wrong?"

"You have to go, Jim," whispered Sarah. "Now. Before they see you."

"Oh no. I'm not going anywhere." Jim glared, clenching his fists. "Before who sees me?"

Sarah shook her head, struggling to shove him out the door. "Go. Try and get to Delbert or Amelia. Pirates."

"_Pirates?_ Mom, what is going on?"

"No time!"

Just before they reached the door, it was flung open. A small, lizard-like man with a tricorn hat and a blindfold stood in the doorway. A sneer lit his face and he took a few hesitating steps forwards, feeling the way with his cane. Sarah yelped, shoving Jim behind her. "Pew!"

"So," said Pew, "this must be Jim Hawkins." He had a smooth, wet voice that made Jim's skin prickle. It reminded him unpleasantly of Scroop.

"Don't you lay a finger on him!" snapped Sarah.

Pew shoved past her and grabbed Jim by the arm. He plastered his other hand over Jim's face. Jim tried to pull away, but gasped in pain as the man's grip on his arm tightened.

"Let go of me!" he demanded.

Pew ignored him. "You're the boy who found the treasure."

"Yeah, and lost it! Leave us alone!"

"I'm here for Long John Silver. He thought he could be rid of me, but he was wrong. Old Pew isn't disposed of so easily and I want my share."

"The treasure's gone! The whole planet exploded!"

"You have a lovely inn here. Such a shame it was burnt down the first time. However did you manage to rebuild it with no money?"

"That was all we had and we haven't heard from Silver in years!"

"Maybe not, but I've found the one boy he cares about."

Jim snarled, stomping on Pew's foot and trying to throw him off. Pew's grip on his arm tightened and he gave a cry of pain.

"Let him go!" ordered Sarah, trying to tug him off. Pew shoved her away disdainfully and turned his attention back to Jim.

"You'd better not try and leave, boy. We've got you surrounded. You know, you've got a lovely mother. It'd be a shame if something were to… happen to her."

Jim's eyes widened. "You wouldn't dare."

"Pray Silver comes to your rescue. Otherwise, nobody will hear from the Hawkins family again." With a last snarl, Pew shoved Jim to the ground and left. The door slammed behind him, leaving Jim and Sarah staring at each other.

"Jim!" Sarah helped him up and examined his arm. A large purple bruise was already spreading across it. "Are you alright? I'll get some ice for that."

Jim nodded weakly. "Yeah. I… I'm fine. Mom, why didn't you tell me this was going on?"

"They're watching the house," groaned Sarah. "And they took BEN. There wasn't any way to get word to you."

"Silver'll come, Mom."

Sarah frowned. "Jim…"

"I trust him. I mean, I know he did try to kill us for a while, but I trust him."

"I hope you're right." She sighed, guiding him to a seat at the table and handing him an icepack. "I'll start getting dinner ready."


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Everyone, meet Starr! Her full name is Starr Rose.

Half an hour later, Jim and Sarah were picking at their food in silence. Neither felt like eating much, but each was making some effort as a way to convince the other to eat. Jim frowned, sitting up straighter. "Did you hear that?"

"Hear what?" asked Sarah.

A thumping noise sounded from outside. Jim got up slowly, reaching for his knife. "Someone's out there."

"We're being surrounded by pirates. Jim, don't even think about it."

Jim clutched the knife and stepped towards the door. "If Pew's coming back to try and bully us some more, he'll get a big sur…"

He heaved the door open, knife at the ready.

"…prise!"

Jim grabbed a figure lurking outside the door and hauled them inside, holding the knife to their throat. The figure gave a girlish scream.

…wait. Pirates didn’t usually wear pink, floral-patterned skirts. Jim gasped, dropping the knife and turning the figure around.

_"Starr?"_

"Jim!" Starr glared at him. "What in the world was that? You nearly took my head off!"

Jim gaped at her. "What are you doing here? How did you get past the pirates? And why haven't I seen you in a year?"

"Missed you too. Wait, pirates?"

"Starr, what in the world?" Sarah came up to her and held her at arm's length. "You haven't changed a bit. How did you get here? And why didn't you tell us you were coming?"

It was true. Starr looked almost exactly the same as she had last year. She had the same short, wavy blonde hair, pink skirt, white blouse, and brown leggings. She was just missing her sash and no longer had a bandage tied around her head.

"I thought I'd stop by for a visit," said Starr. "Didn't have time to send word ahead. What were you saying about pirates?"

"You had to have seen them," said Jim. "They would've tried to stop you from getting in."

"Wait, what? What is going on? And has it been a year?"

"Ohhhh no. You first." Jim glared at her, crossing his arms. "There's no way you got in here without them seeing you."

"I'm sorry, Starr, but you'll have to leave however you did get here. And take Jim with you. It's too dangerous."

"I just… sneaked up?" Starr grinned sheepishly.

"And didn't even notice them?" said Jim.

"It's dark."

"They would've stopped you."

Sarah sighed. "Starr, those excuses are worse than Jim's. I know I'm not really your mother, but if there's something going on…"

Starr fidgeted with the hem of her skirt, gulping. "There's… there's really no good way to explain this without sounding completely insane."

"Try me." Sarah put an arm around her and led her to a chair.

Starr narrowed her eyes. "You won't get it."

"Come on," said Jim. "It's me. We used to tell each other everything."

"Everything. Right. Well, about that… there's something that I didn't ever tell you. Because of how bloody insane it'd sound."

"Now I've got to hear it."

"Uhhh… okay. Here goes. So I'm not from this universe."

"…what's that supposed to mean?" Jim cocked his head, frowning.

"I'm literally from a different world. A far more boring one, I might add. I’m what's called a Traveler. I travel from place to place, helping out and having adventures. Usually there's like, one or two people that I'm supposed to protect specifically. I never show up in the official records, but I try to make sure that stuff turns out the way it's supposed to."

Jim and Sarah stared at her blankly.

"Are you feeling okay, honey?" said Sarah.

"I'm fine! See, I told you it sounds crazy. It's kinda like using Flint's portal. I travel through time and to different worlds."

"And it's your job to… protect people?" said Jim.

Starr nodded. "I was here because I was protecting you."

Jim nodded thoughtfully. "You did catch me when I fell out of the _Legacy_ and I missed the skiff. And I heard you yelling at Silver before he caught me, and you warned me when Scroop was above me. I'm also pretty sure I never would've been able to pull Silver back to safety on my own."

"This still sounds very strange," said Sarah. "How did you get here in the first place? You just turned up on our doorstep and I couldn't get a straight answer about where you came from."

"Somebody told his story," said Starr, gesturing to Jim. "That's how I travel. Through stories."

Jim scowled slightly. "Why are you here, then? Protecting me again? You just left after Treasure Planet and we never heard from you again and now you just show up with some wild story about Traveling?"

"Your story isn't over yet," murmured Starr. "There's still more things. And I missed you. You're my friend."

"Was I, though? If you were only there to protect me?"

"Jim Hawkins!" Starr glared at him furiously. "Yes, I was there to protect you, but also because I wanted to be there. Don't think for one minute that I didn't need a friend as much as you did. I don't like where I'm from. It's alright, but it's lonely. This is where my friends are. This is a place where I can do something worthwhile and not be just the quiet girl or the nerd or that weird kid who always sits alone and doesn't talk to anybody. I'm not invisible here. I'm somebody."

"Oh, honey," sighed Sarah, squeezing her hand. "I had no idea."

"I'm sorry," said Jim. "It's just… kinda weird to realize your best friend travels worlds to protect people. I'm still not entirely sure I believe it. And then there's the pirates…"

"Right, the pirates," said Starr. "What's going on with the pirates?"

Jim and Sarah poured out the whole story. Starr's brow creased. "Oh boy. I don't like the sound of this."

"I know," Jim sighed. But unless you can do something…"

"Hmm." Starr straightened, frowning harder. "I can't get you out, if that's what you want. You can't Travel inside your own universe, unfortunately. But I can get a message to Silver."

"Aren't they already doing that?"

"Yeah, but I can get their faster." Starr smiled at them. Then she simply began to… fade. She vanished like the Chesire Cat, leaving behind an afterimage of sparking blue-grey eyes.

"This has been the weirdest night," muttered Jim.

~*~

If you'd asked Silver where he'd seen himself after finding Treasure Planet, hiding in a corner of the Etherium was not the answer he would've given. Yet here he was, stuck in a grim hole of a hotel and feeling certain that the police would come barging in his door at any moment. He'd sworn he was going to shape up after Treasure Planet, but a lifetime of old habits could be hard to correct. When the skiff from the Legacy had broken down, he'd had to steal another. And then, of course, he'd had to get money for food and parts for his arm and a little more for spending would be nice… and before he knew it he was in the middle of a smuggling ring. He'd slipped up and now the authorities were after him and his cyborg parts made him easily identifiable.

A knock sounded at the door and he quickly clicked his prosthetic into a gun. If he was going out, then he'd take some of the police-bots with him.

No voice followed the knock. A piece of paper was slid under the door. Silver heard footsteps walking away from his room as he bent to pick it up.

_Pew is back. Jim Hawkins is in danger. Come to the Benbow Inn as quickly as possible._

Silver gulped, crumpling the paper angrily. He should've known that Pew would be back, but he hadn't expected Jim and Starr to be drug into it. Of course, he'd never expected them in the first place. Those kids had just snuck up on him.

And now they were in danger because of his actions. Silver had no doubt that Pew was after Flint's treasure. If that crazy old man hurt a hair on either child's head, there'd be hell to pay.

"I'm comin', Jimbo," muttered Silver, his cyborg eye glinting red. "I'm comin'."


	3. Chapter 3

"Well?" asked Jim. "Did you talk to him?"

Starr had faded into existence in the same way she'd vanished. She sat back down at the table. "Yes. Well, sort of. I left a note."

"Are you sure he'll get it?" asked Sarah.

"Yeah, he will. Don't worry."

"When will he get here?"

"That's hard to say. There were police looking for him everywhere and he was in a pretty remote corner of the Etherium. Fortunately, they're the old, run-down police bots that barely work. He'll be here as soon as he can, I’m sure."

Jim sighed, looking at the door. "I'm not sure how long Pew will wait."

"Well, you two had better get to bed." Sarah rose to her feet and began clearing the dishes off the table.

Jim shook his head. "I'm not leaving you alone down here. What if he comes back?"

"It's alright, Jim. I'm not completely helpless, you know."

"I know. I'm just…"

"Worried?" Sarah quirked a smile. "Now you know how I felt all those years."

Jim groaned. "I am so sorry."

The next few days were a strange mix of quiet and tension. Pew would visit daily and grill them about the treasure. Starr would always hide during these visits, as they'd decided it was best if the pirates didn't know she was there. When Pew wasn't there, Jim and Starr helped Sarah around the inn and began working on improvised weapons.

"It's best if we prepare for the worst," said Starr. "We may have to defend ourselves."

So they stashed kitchen knives in various easily accessible places. Cups of hot liquids could be thrown into people's faces. Condiments and other kitchen supplies could temporarily blind someone… assuming they weren't blind already, at least. Cutlery could be driven into eyes and everything from chairs to tables to rolling puns to frying pans could seriously incapacitate someone.

"The main thing we'll have to worry about is blasters," said Jim. "A frying pan won't do much against them."

"I think all we can do to avoid that is make sure there's plenty of cover and try to get the jump on them," sighed Starr.

The two looked at each other, neither wanting to voice what the other was thinking. They were an exhausted inkeeper and two kids with improvised weapons up against an experienced, fully-armed pirate band. Things were looking pretty bleak.

"If Silver doesn't come soon," muttered Jim, "we're done for."

~*~

Delbert Doppler smiled softly, gazing out at the Etherium. Well… less at the Etherium and more at the woman beside him. Captain Amelia was a woman beyond his wildest dreams. She was brave, honest, tough, and beautiful. How she'd ever settled for a bumbling astronomer who completely panicked in times of crisis was beyond him.

They were back onboard the _Legacy_, with a much more dependable crew this time. Doppler had suggested a luxury crew liner for their honeymoon, but Amelia had been horrified at the idea. Being petted and pampered with nothing to do was definitely not her style. She preferred to be in command.

"Enjoying the view, Delbert?" said Amelia.

"Oh, yes." Doppler smiled dreamily at her. "Very much."

"You know, it's rather nice to be onboard this ship without a crew of bloodthirsty pirates on our tale." Amelia smiled, resting her head against his shoulder. Doppler sighed contentedly, wrapping an arm around her shoulders. If only they could freeze this moment forever.

Then a skiff came out of nowhere and nearly crashed into the side of the ship. Amelia straightened immediately, her green eyes flashing. Doppler squinted at the occupant, catching glimpses of a long, dark coat.

"What is the meaning of this?" demanded Amelia. "You, there! Are you having trouble?"

"Cap'n!" cried the skipper. "Thank goodness I ran into ye!"

Doppler stiffened, recognizing the voice instantly. The figure in the skiff turned, revealing a bulky cyborg.

"Long John Silver," spat Amelia. "I will be turning you in to the authorities."

"No, Cap'n!" pleaded Silver. "I'm beggin' ye! Please, I need yer help!"

Doppler frowned. The man seemed genuinely distressed. No… it was more than that. He was terrified.

"I refuse to help with your underhanded schemes," said Amelia. "Hold that skiff still and prepare to be boarded."

"It's not a scheme, Cap'n! It's Jimbo! He's in danger!"

Doppler froze. "Jim? What about him?"

"I ain't sayin' nothin' until ye agree to listen and not just lock me up!"

"Well?" said Doppler, turning to his wife. "What do you think?"

"The man's a conniving scoundrel."

"Agreed. But can we really risk anything happening to the Hawkins family?"

"We could always go check up on them after we rid ourselves of that rascal."

"True, but Silver knows more about it than us. And something tells me he's actually being genuine, for once. You know he's always had a soft spot for Jim."

Amelia frowned, then nodded. "I see your point. Without more information, we could walk straight into a trap. But if he makes one wrong move, I'll gut him."

"Cap'n!" called Silver. "I know ye don't trust me, but please! For Jim!"

Amelia sighed heavily, turning back to the rail. "Very well, Mr. Silver. I give you my word that we shall listen and you shall not be taken into custody… for now. Prepare to pull your skiff into the hangar. But be warned that if you betray us again, you won't get off easy a second time."

"Understood, Cap'n!" Silver shot her a hasty salute before getting his skiff into position.

Hopefully they hadn't just made a huge mistake.

~*~

"Without the treasure, we're dead." Jim groaned, pacing back and forth across the Benbow's floor. "If we try to leave, we're dead. If we stay here, we're dead."

"We're dead!" chirped Morph happily. "We're dead, we're dead, we're dead!"

"Hey." Starr put a hand on his shoulder. "It's Silver, Jim. He'll come."

Sarah sighed, looking between them. "Starr, honey, he might not come. I know he helped you on Treasure Planet, but he's still a pirate."

"I know," said Starr. "But he really does like Jim. And Pew's really counting on it."

Jim stiffened at the sound of a cane tapping against the path. "Speaking of Pew… Starr, the kitchen! Quick!"

Starr darted into the kitchen and down the stairs of the root cellar. She slid into a dark corner hidden by bins of potatoes and shelves of wines.

Jim watched to make sure she was safely hidden, then stepped in front of Sarah as the door was flung open.

Pew was wasting no time today. He hissed at them as he entered the room. "They couldn't find the cyborg, boy. My men searched the entire Etherium and they couldn't find the cyborg!" His scaly claw shot out, catching Jim by the throat and shoving him against the wall. "Where is he?"

Jim coughed, kicking out at him. "I told you, we don't know where he is!"

Pew gave an enraged snarl, increasing the pressure. Jim's face was turning beet red. "Maybe I underestimated his concern for you."

"Maybe… you did," wheezed Jim. "Maybe… he… doesn't care. Let… let us go!"

Pew dropped him like a sack of potatoes. Jim coughed violently, clutching at his throat. The old pirate turned menacingly to Sarah, who backed away from him. "What sort of message would it send of Silver came for you one day and you were still alive to tell the tale?" he sneered. "Of course, not that we couldn't have a little fun first." He stroked Sarah's cheek, a leering smile on his face.

"Stay… away… from her!" Jim tackled Pew, sending him sprawling. Pew snarled and rolled over, pinning Jim with one arm and punching him with the other.

"Jim!" Sarah grabbed Pew's arm and received a vicious backhand that sent her flying. Pew pulled a knife from his belt, holding it over Jim's face. Jim struggled weakly, still gasping for breath.

"NO!"

A crash sounded from the kitchen. Jim's eyes widened and his struggling redoubled as Starr appeared in the doorway. The girl had a knife in her hand and a wild look in her eyes ash she charged Pew, knocking him off of Jim. Pew grunted in surprise, plastering a hand over her face.

"You've been hiding in here! Where did you come from?"

"I've always been here, you creep! Just hiding!" Starr snarled murderously, making a wild swing with the knife. Pew caught her arm before it could connect.

"You watch yourself, girl. You're lying. How long have you been here? We searched the whole house!"

"Obviously, not very well!"

"I heard her coming and hid her in the root cellar!" said Sarah. "She's telling the truth. Just let her go!"

Pew growled, climbing to his feet. He felt for his cane, then whacked Starr across the face with it. "We'll give Silver one more day. If he doesn't show up, you're dead. And I want some answers about where that girl came from!" He started to stride out of the room, but paused at the door. "I'll give you some time to think about what just happened… and how painful the repercussions will be."

Starr climbed to her feet, then reached down and pulled Jim up. He groaned, slumping against her and rubbing his throat. "What were you thinking?"

"Are you alright?" asked Starr. She held him at arms' length and frowned at his throat. "That's already starting to bruise."

"You're the one that's bleeding," wheezed Jim. "Really, what were you thinking?"

"I dunno, maybe that you were gonna get killed. I could hear everything from the root cellar."

"Great. Just great. Now he knows you're here and knows you weren't always here. He also knows there's no way you could've gotten past the guards."

"Sorry, Jim." Starr gave him a tiny smile. "But there was no way I was gonna let you get killed."

"You two need to sit down," interrupted Sarah. "I'm going to get some ice and bandages. Does anything except the obvious hurt?"

Starr shook her head, then instantly regretted the action. "Ow. Nope. I'm fine."

"Knock it off," grunted Jim. "Even I'm not pretending I'm fine."

"Fine. I've got a headache the size of Montressor, but I'll live."


	4. Chapter 4

Jim stirred in his sleep, mumbling to himself and pulling the blanket over his head. Something was fluttering about him, nestling his cheek and gurgling. There was a light, too. Why was there a light on this late?

Groaning, he peeled his eyes open. "Morph, knock it off. It's not time to get up."

"Good boy, Morphy," whispered a familiar voice. "Hello, Jimbo."

"Wha… Silver!" Jim bolted upright, then groaned and clapped a hand to his head. "Ow. You came!"

Silver narrowed his eyes, leaning closer to the boy and holding up the lantern. Jim squinted, putting a hand up to shield his eyes. "What happened to yer eye, lad? And yer neck!"

"Tell you later," said Jim. He gave an ear-splitting grin. "Man, is it good to see you."

"Shhhh. It's good to see you too, Jimbo. We're getting the three of you out of here. Stay quiet."

Jim nodded, slipping out of bed. Fortunately, he'd slept in his clothes. "Silver, they've got BEN. We've got to get him back."

"Aye, lad. I know. Doppler and the Cap'n are workin' on it."

"You brought them?"

"Needed all the help I could get." Silver smiled at him and Jim's grin widened.

"Great, let's go get Mom and Starr."

Starr's room was just across the hall. Jim stepped inside and shook her gently. Starr groaned, peering up at him.

"Jim? What's hap'n'?"

"Silver's here," said Jim. "Time to go."

"Silver!" Starr sat up quickly, groaned, and nearly fell back again. "Ow. I've gotta stop doing that."

"I think we're both concussed," grumbled Jim.

Starr sat up again, more successfully this time. "Silver! You did come!"

"Of course I came." Silver frowned, inspecting the bandage on her head. "Pew did all this, didn't he?"

"It's no big deal." Jim shrugged, trying to play it off. "We'll be fine."

"You may be," muttered Silver darkly, "but that slimy old lizard will not be."

Sarah Hawkins was awoken next, considerably startled and relieved to find the hulking Silver in her house. Soon, they were gathered in the hall.

"So, what's the plan?' said Starr. "How do we get out? How did you get in?"

"Doppler and the Cap'n are providing a distraction," whispered Silver. "I took a skiff while the pirates weren't lookin' and landed on the roof. We'll go back out through Jim's skylight."

"Got it," said Sarah. "And BEN?"

"Hopefully they'll have him. Part of the distraction is the rescue mission."

"BEN could distract anybody," muttered Jim.

"Let's get going," said Starr.

Together, they made their way back to Jim's bedroom. Jim climbed up on the bookshelf and opened the window, reaching down to help Sarah up and onto the roof. Starr came next, taking Sarah's hand and scrambling nimbly through the opening. Jim was about to climb up when he froze, hearing a familiar tapping noise.

"Lad, go!" hissed Silver. Jim hastily scrambled through the skylight. Silver pulled himself up after, shutting the window with a soft click. It wasn't a moment too soon. Pew came into the room, searching about with his cane. The group on the rough froze, scarcely daring to breathe.

"I know you're around here somewhere, Hawkins," growled Pew, feeling his way around the room. "Hmmm… not in the room, though."

_Don't move_, mouthed Silver. Jim nodded mutely, staring down at the pirate and praying they'd remain unseen. Then Morph popped out of his pocked and turned into the blind pirate.

"Hawkins!" he squeaked.

Jim bit back and exclamation and clapped his hands around the shapeshifter, silencing him. It was too little, too late. Pew's head shot up in the direction of the roof. "Up there, are we?"

"Go!" gasped Silver, ushering them onwards. Jim rushed over the rooftop, gripping his mother's hand. They made it to the skiff and climbed aboard.

Silver clicked his prosthetic into a blaster. "I trust ye still know how to pilot one o' these, Jimbo?"

"'Course I do!" Jim grinned, adjusting the controls.

"The Cap'n is down that way. We'll pick up her team and get back t' the Legacy."

"Watch out!" yelped Starr. She tugged Silver down as a laser whistled over his head. Pirates were clambering over the roof, firing at them. Silver ducked below the top of the skiff and returned fire. Sarah squatted in the bottom of the boat, pulling Lindsey down with her.

"Uh, Silver?" she called. "Small detail, but I'd really prefer it if the Benbow didn't burn to the ground. Again."

"I'll do me best to avoid it, ma'am," replied Silver. He leaned over the edge, shaking his fists at the pirates. "Oi! Come and get me, ye space scum!"

The pirates snarled, swarming from every opening in the Benbow and chasing the skiff as Jim steered them away. He was having the time of his life, expertly steering the skiff through the mob while adding a few extra twists and turns.

"Jim!" bellowed Silver. "Ye're throwin' off me aim!"

"Sorry!" called Jim, steadying them.

"Halloooooo the skiff!" called a familiar voice. "Hiya, Jimmy!"

"If you could bring that longboat over here, Mr. Hawkins!" said Captain Amelia.

Starr peered over the side of the skiff, There, in the field, were Amelia, Doppler, and BEN. The latter bounced and waved eagerly while Amelia remained on high alert and Doppler fidgeted nervously. Jim flew the skiff down and held it still as they boarded. Doppler offered Amelia a hand and she accepted with an amused grin. Meanwhile, Lindsey tugged BEN aboard. He promptly wrapped his metallic arms around her and squeezed.

"Starr! You're back! We were starting to think you'd gotten lost and died and we'd never see you again!"

"My ribs, BEN," laughed Starr, pulling him away. "It's good to see you, too."

"You know, I've always wondered just where you keep popping off to. You aren't some sort of time traveler, are you? Hey, Jimmy! Oh, it is so good to see you! Those pirates just don't appreciate hugs!"

"Woah!" Starr grabbed BEN around the waist before he could tackle Jim. "You can give Jim a hug later. He's kinda steering the skiff."

"Oh, right, right, right." BEN nodded wisely. "We wouldn't want the pirates down there catching up now, would we?"

"We certainly would not," said Amelia, leaning over the edge. The pirates had obtained a portable cannon and were aiming right at the skiff. "Full speed ahead, Mr. Hawkins! The _Legacy_'s just south of the inn!"

"Aye, Cap'n!" grinned Jim as he pressed the controls. "Full speed it is."

"Everyone, grab hold!" bellowed Silver.

The occupants obeyed just in time as the skiff shot forwards, dodging blasts from the laser cannon. Jim leaned low over the controls, a tight grin on his face.

Amelia stood upright, clutching Doppler's shoulder for balance, and began shouting orders. "Mr. Davis! Open the bay doors and prepare to get us out of here! All men, to your posts!"

Jim flew the skiff into the hangar, slowing down just enough to keep them from crashing. The boat bumped into catwalks and knocked over barrels until Jim cut the engines. Starr and Silver grabbed ropes to secure it. Crew members scrambled about, preparing to take off as Amelia shouted orders.

"You four need to stay below decks!" Doppler shouted over the chaos. "We'll handle the pirates."

Jim looked like he was about to protest, but was silenced by the collective death glares of his mother, Starr, Silver, and the Dopplers. He grumbled, leaning back in the skiff and crossing his arms. Then BEN tackled him in with a hug.


	5. Chapter 5

It was several hours before they'd escaped the pirates. The chase had been long and difficult, but they'd finally lost them, fortunately managing to divert them from destroying the Benbow as well. Everyone was now seated around the table in Amelia's stateroom while BEN "kept watch" on the deck. Sarah was slumped forwards in exhaustion, Starr and Jim were playing with Morph, and Doppler and Amelia were chatting quietly. Silver was hunched in his seat, glancing about nervously.

Sarah looked up at him, then put a hand on the cyborg's arm. "Silver?"

Silver started violently, looking down at her. "Yes?"

"I just wanted to thank you. Jim hasn't told me all of what happened, but I know you saved his life back on Treasure Planet."

Silver chuckled softly. "Ye should've seen him then, ma'am. Glowin' like a solar fire. Jim saved us all in the end."

"Jim looks up to you, you know. He needs someone like you."

"I…" Silver hesitated, unsure of himself. "I think he can do a lot better than me. But thank ye."

"Do _not_ let him down again. If Starr doesn't end you, I will."

"I'll try me best not to, ma'am."

"Well." Captain Amelia stood up suddenly, drawing everyone's attention. "Now that we've had a bit of a rest, we should discuss where we're going from here. Silver, what exactly does Pew want? Is he after Flint's treasure?"

Silver sighed, shifting in his seat. "Oh, he'll be after the treasure, but that's only a means to an end. I was always the one obsessing over treasure. No, Pew had his sights set on something else. A space monster."

"Really?" Jim leaned forward with wide, eager eyes. "What kind of monster?"

"A giant squid, Jimbo," said Silver. "Big as an entire ship. It had huge tentacles with barbed hooks that could rip yer flesh from yer bones, poisonous ink that it sprays at ye, and a huge, lifeless eye that just stares at ye while it wrecks havoc. Few have ever seen it and escaped."

"That's quite enough with the fantasies, Silver," said Amelia firmly.

Sliver spluttered. "It's no fantasy, ma'am! I seen it with me own eyes!"

"But that's preposterous!" protested Doppler. "You're suggesting the existence of a Kraken-like creature in the Etherium. Squid aren't like the _orcus galacticus_, they're water-dwellers. And one of such proportions couldn't possibly exist!"

"It can't, eh?" snapped Silver. "How d'ye think I got these?" He gestured to his prosthetics and the table fell silent. Jim and Starr exchanged significant glances.

"Pew and I worked together, back in the day," said Silver. "We were chasin' Billy Bones when he decided to go through the part o' the Etherium where that ting lives. I'll never know how Bones survived, but the squid came up at us out of nowhere and attacked the ship! We barely got out of it alive! I lost me right side t' that beast. Pew was lucky, he just lost his eyes. Got squirted in the face with some o' the ink."

"If you're telling the truth," said Amelia, "then why would Pew want to chase such a beast?"

"He was fascinated with them, Cap'n! Wanted revenge for his eyesight, he said. Bloody ridiculous. I lost more'n he did and I never wanted to clap eyes on the creatures again. To tell the truth, I don't think he could stand bein' beaten."

"Why wasn't he on the Treasure Planet crew?" muttered Starr. Everyone looked at her and she blushed, sinking down in her chair.

"Lemme guess," said Jim. "Pirate stuff."

Silver nodded sheepishly. "We had a… disagreement, is all. Which ended in us parting ways."

Amelia cocked an eyebrow.

"He didn't really know we was partin' ways at the time. Jimbo, stop givin' me that look. He was formin' a mutiny!"

"A mutiny?" Amelia's other eyebrow shot up. "How terrible. I can hardly imagine what that was like to handle."

Silver sighed. "I'm sorry about that, Cap'n. But can we focus on Pew?"

"We'll discuss that later, Mr. Silver. As for Pew… we'll trap him. He'll be coming after us again, so we shall use that to our advantage. Mr. Silver will act as the bait."

"I don't suppose I get any say in it, now," snorted Silver.

Amelia gave him a look. "Let me make this clear, Silver. The only reasons you are still here are because of Hawkins and because we need you to catch Pew. If it was up to me, you'd be on your way to the judge and a lifetime in prison, if not hanging."

Jim's head shot up in alarm. "Hanging?"

"Yes, Mr. Hawkins. Hanging is the general punishment for piracy. But, if he should choose to cooperate, I could possibly… negotiate with the judge to get a lighter sentence. At the very least, you won't find yourself at the end of a noose."

Starr looked up at Silver anxiously and Morph chittered, hovering close to the cyborg. Silver patted him gently. "I'll cooperate, Cap'n. Can't have Pew roamin' about the Etherium."

"Excellent. I'll get to work on a plan right away. Now, I suggest you all get some rest. I'll alert you should any emergency occur."

Everyone began filing out of the stateroom, but Amelia caught Silver's arm as he turned to leave. "Listen to me now, Silver," she hissed. "I'm giving you a chance for Hawkins and Delbert's sakes. But if you betray me again, you will not have to wait for a judge. Are we clear?"

"Aye," said Silver. "We're clear."

"Excellent. I'll see you in the morning, then."


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Note: I do not know everything about the Etherium, the Navy, or how that all works in general. I haven't managed to get my hands on Treasure Planet: A Voyage of Discovery yet and I'm currently stuck on a level in Battle of Procyon. I apologize for any errors and/or inconsistencies.

Jim awoke to the familiar sensation of his hammock gently swaying to the motion of the ship and Morph curled up on his shoulder, snoring peacefully. For a moment, he could believe he'd gone back in time to the previous year. He could see Starr across the room, curled up in a ball with her tangled hair spread everywhere. Any minute now, Silver would be yelling at him to get up and start working.

"JIMBO! STARR!" bellowed a voice from the top of the stairs. "Where are ye? Ye can't sleep all day."

"Yep, I've definitely gone back in time," Jim groaned. Just as he was stumbling out of his hammock, he was tackled from behind by a blur of metal.

"MORNING, JIMMY!"

"BEN?" Jim glared at the huge, pixelated eyes. "What are you doing?"

"It's morning! Silver wanted me to get you up! I really like that guy."

"Well, I'm up. Will you get off of me now?"

"Right, right, right. Touching." BEN pulled himself away and grinned broadly. "I'll go get Starr!"

"Wait, wait… BEN!" Jim tried to stop him, but it was too late. BEN bounced eagerly towards Starr's hammock.

"MORNING, STARR! Silver says it's time to get up!"

"Gah!" Starr yelped and rolled out of the hammock, thudding onto the floor. "Oh. Hi, BEN. Uhhh… morning."

Jim chuckled, pulling her to her feet. "You okay?"

"Yeah." Starr stretched and gave a cavernous yawn. "We'd better get up there before Silver blows a fuse."

Silver was waiting at the top of the stairs when both half-awake teenagers and a very awake BEN stumbled up. "C'mon, you two. Time's a'wastin'."

"Morning, Silver," muttered Jim, scrubbing at his face with his sleeve. "What's going on?"

"Cap'n wants us in the stateroom. Apparently she's come up with a plan."

"Great." Starr gave another gigantic yawn. "Let's go."

Everyone else was already in the stateroom when they arrived. Sarah had brought up breakfast and a tray of coffee, which Jim immediately pounced on. After everyone had received a plate of food, Amelia stood and cleared her throat.

"I believe I've come up with a suitable plan to trap Pew," she announced. "Though, of course, I will consider any insight that any of you may have."

Jim looked up from his coffee. Somehow, he was already on his second cup. "Really?"

"I said consider, Mr. Hawkins. Mr. Silver, your suggestions would be particularly valued, as you are the most familiar with him. BEN, would you be able to scan for and locate Pew?"

BEN snorted, waving his hand. "Can I scan for and locate Pew? Of course I can scan for and locate Pew! Uhh… who's Pew again?"

Jim groaned and facepalmed. After explaining exactly what was happening, BEN nodded eagerly. "Yeah, I can do that. No problem."

Jim gave him a skeptical look. "Are you sure?"

"What sort of a question is that? Of course I'm sure! Pretty sure, at least."

"Right," said Amelia. "Anyways. My current plan is to have BEN locate Pew. I'll contact the Royal Navy and have them waiting in a certain area. We will give Pew's ship a chase and lead him right to the hidden Navy ships. Mr. Silver, any thoughts?"

Silver nodded thoughtfully, stroking his chin with his robotic hand. "It's risky, but Pew'll chase anythin', especially if he sees me involved. Only one thing, Cap'n. Are ye sure this'll work?"

"One can never be completely sure that something will work, Mr. Silver, but I am reasonably confident that this won't fail. Precautions will be taken to ensure the safety of the crew, but there is always an element of danger."

"Understood."

"I will not force any of you to participate in this, with the exception of Silver. His involvement is vital."

"I'm in, Captain," said Starr.

"Me too," said Jim.

"Kids…" Silver looked at them. "Ye've been drug into this enough already."

Sarah took a deep breath. "A year ago, I would've absolutely forbidden this. But you kids have grown up a lot since then. Jim, I trust you to make your own decisions."

Jim brightened. "Thanks, Mom."

"But I'm not letting you go into this alone. I'm in."

"It goes without saying that I'm in," said Doppler, smiling at Amelia. The smile she returned was almost sickeningly sweet.

"Very well, then, it's settled. I shall contact the Navy right away."

Sarah reached for the coffee pot, then frowned as only a trickle came out. "This was just… Jim! How many cups of coffee did you have?"

"Uhh…" Jim slipped his coffee cup behind his back and smiled sheepishly. "Can I not answer that question?"

~*~

"I've gotten the ships from the Navy," said Captain Amelia. "BEN, have you found Pew?"

It was a day later and everyone was seated, once again, in her stateroom.

"Not yet, Captain, but I'm working on it!" BEN was busily typing into his front panel. "Shouldn't take too much longer… aha! I've got him!"

Starr gave him a look. "Are you sure you've got him? Last time you said that, it was a whale."

"No, it's really him this time! I've got him! He's near Calenepis."

Amelia's brow crinkled. "Hmm. That could be a problem. The only place we can chase him near Calenepis is at the very edge of the Etherium."

"What do you mean, the edge of the Etherium?" said Sarah.

"The Etherium may be immense, Mrs. Hawkins, but it is only a corner of space. In this area of the universe, there is an atmosphere. Breathable air. It's why we're able to travel so freely and in uncovered boats. But outside of the Etherium…"

"…there's no air," finished Starr. "Nothing. Just a vacuum. You stay out in that and you're dead. You'll freeze and suffocate all at once."

Amelia raised an eyebrow. "Very good. You've been paying attention in school, I see."

Jim rolled his eyes. "You've seen it, haven't you?"

Starr nodded. "I have. Space is beautiful but very, very dangerous. It'll kill you if you aren't careful."

Amelia's other eyebrow shot up as well. "You've been outside the Etherium? When? How?"

"That, Captain, is another story for another time. Back to the plan?"

"Of course. The fact that we'll be on the edge of the Etherium shouldn't be a problem, so long as we stay in the habitable zone. Pew won't want to venture out any more than we will. We proceed with the plan tomorrow." She turned to Jim, Starr, and Sarah. "I'd prefer that the three of you stay out of sight as much as possible."

"But…" protested Jim.

"Jimbo," cautioned Silver.

"Fine."

"You will be armed as a precaution and will remain on hand, but you are not to do anything unless it is absolutely necessary. Is that clear?"

"Yes, ma'am," said Sarah. She gave Jim a pointed glance. "We'll do that. Right, Jim?"

Jim rolled his eyes. "Yes, mom."

"Just making sure."

"Excellent. Now, I suggest you all get about your chores for the day, and be sure to get a full meal and night's rest. Tomorrow may prove difficult."


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As I mentioned earlier, Starr's full name is Starr Rose. So if Amelia starts referring to a "Rose," it's her.

There was no need to use BEN as an alarm clock the next morning. Starr woke early after tossing and turning most of the night. She lay in her hammock for a moment, staring at the rough fabric above her and listening to the gentle snoring of the crew. She wasn't sure she liked this plan. It could work, but it was still risky. And something was definitely off about the whole Pew affair.

Something stirred against her skin and she smiled, realizing that Morph had chosen to stay with her that night. "Hey, buddy. Morning."

Morph chittered and began flying around her, nuzzling her gently. She chuckled and stroked him with one finger. "Alright, I'm up. Let's go get Jim."

Starr climbed carefully out of her hammock and smiled at the sight of Jim, curled up once again under his huge black jacket. He'd found the thing yesterday in Amelia's stateroom. Apparently he'd left it behind on the previous voyage and she'd tucked it in a chest and forgotten about it. She shook his shoulder gently. "Jim? Time to wake up."

"Ugh." Jim swatted at her and rolled over. Starr sighed, shaking him again.

"C'mon, Jim. Would you prefer BEN?"

"I'm coming, I'm coming." Jim glared at her balefully and rolled out of the hammock, landing on the floor and grabbing his jacket.

"You really need that thing?" Starr looked down at it. He always seemed much more threatening and scowly when he wore the jacket. More like the troubled teen everyone saw and less like the kind, brave young man she'd come to know.

"I dunno. It's kinda chilly." Jim shoved his arms into the sleeves and brushed himself off. "Man, I haven't worn this thing since…"

_Mr. Arrow._ Starr winced, remembering that night and how broken and angry Jim had been. She never wanted to see him in that state again. "Jim…"

Jim gave her a forced grin. "It's fine. I just want to keep it on for now. We should get up there."

He turned and walked up the stairs, Starr scrambling after him.

"Well. You two are early risers today." Amelia nodded approvingly from the top deck. "Most of the crew aren't even up yet."

"Morning, Captain," said Starr. She pulled herself onto the rail and climbed into the rigging, then sat and pulled one leg close to her chest, clutching the rope with the other hand. Morph flew about her, gurgling gently.

Jim climbed up after her. "Hey."

Starr accidentally squeezed Morph until he protested and flew out of her hand. "Hi."

"Nervous?"

Starr gave a slight laugh. "We're just going to confront a bloodthirsty gang of pirates with a leader who's dead-set on getting some treasure that's been pretty much destroyed and we just got reunited with Silver but he's the bait and even Captain Amelia admits that this is risky. Oh yeah, and we're at the very edge of the Etherium. What could I possibly be nervous about?"

"That about sums it up," said Jim.

"That, and… well, when you're a Traveler, you kinda get a sense of when things are about to go wrong. I've got a bad feeling about this."

Jim frowned, looking at her. "You think this is going to go wrong?"

"Of course it's going to go wrong, Jim. If something can go wrong, it usually will. The question is, what will go wrong and how bad will it be? There's something we don't know yet, something we're missing. I don't like it."

"Great." Jim leaned his head on his hands and stared out at the stars. "So, prepare for anything."

"Pretty much. Sorry."

Jim shrugged. "I'm the one who asked. It's alright."

"Let's just hope I'm wrong."

"Jim! Starr!" cried Sarah from below. "Come down from there and get some breakfast. We're meeting in the stateroom."

Starr swung down from the rigging, Jim close behind her. She plastered a broad smile on her face, trying to hide the growing feeling of unease.

After breakfast, she and Jim found themselves seated in the stateroom, each nursing a cup of coffee. Starr was even more on edge than usual, her blue eyes darting about the room. She jiggled her leg and drummed a rhythm on the table with her fingers. Morph squeaked, turning himself into a blue ribbon and flying up to her. She smiled tightly, picking up the ribbon and toying with it.

Jim gave her a concerned look. _You good?_ He mouthed.

Starr nodded, giving him a quick smile. Jim rolled his eyes, putting a hand over hers and squeezing.

Amelia rose to her feet and cleared her throat. "We are going after Pew as we speak. We should be there soon. Silver, I want you somewhere he can see you, but be careful. Delbert, you and BEN will be with me. I may have need of both of you. Hawkins, Rose, and Mrs. Hawkins, you are to remain here. Everyone is to be armed and on high alert at all times. Is that understood?"

There was a chorus of agreements from around the table.

"Excellent. Everyone to your positions."

Starr caught Silver's mechanical arm as he turned to leave. Silver looked down at her, surprised. "Yes, lass?"

"Silver, please be careful. I don't like this. There's too much that could go wrong."

"I'll keep that in mind, lass." Silver wrapped an arm around her shoulders and gave her a squeeze. "Don't worry about me, now. I know how to take care o' meself."

"Thanks." Starr gave him a small smile.

Captain Amelia unlocked her cupboard and handed out pistols. "Mrs. Hawkins, do you know how to use this?"

Sarah nodded, taking it from her. "I'm more than just an innkeeper, you know."

"Excellent."

"Captain!" A frog-like alien threw open the door. "We've sighted the ship, ma'am!"

"Very good, Mr. Davis," said Amelia. "Let us see what this Pew has in store for us, shall we?"


	8. Chapter 8

Starr pressed herself against the window as Captain Amelia left the stateroom, digging her fingernails into her palm. Jim peered out of it next to her, squinting. They caught site of a ship in the distance, bearing down on them with sails unfurled.

"Here it comes," Jim muttered.

Starr nodded, unable to tear her eyes away. "Yep. This should be interesting."

"Hey," said Jim. He tried to give her a reassuring smile. "It'll be alright."

"Yeah. Yeah, I know." _It's how long it'll take before it's alright that worries me._

A cannonball smashed into the ship, sending them tumbling to the ground. Starr yelped as she crashed against the table.

"I think they noticed us!" gasped Sarah.

"You think?" Jim got to his feet. He pulled Starr up, then readied his pistol.

Starr offered Sarah a hand up, then clutched the table as another blast rattled the ship. "What's happening out there?"

"Pew's attacking," said Jim. "We're running. Hopefully we'll be at the ambush site soon."

"Where's Silver?" Starr rushed back to the window. "Is he okay?"  
"I dunno! I can't see a thing!"

Why in the world didn't the stateroom have windows that looked onto the deck? Starr groaned, tugging at her hair with both fists. "C'mon, Amelia… please get us there…"

Morph gurgled and flew about anxiously until Jim cupped a hand around him. "Hey, Morph. It'll be okay."

Morph cuddled closer to him, nodding weakly.

"We're almost there!" cried Starr. Then another blast rocked the ship and she heard a panicked cry in the distance. Her heart dropped into her shoes. That was _Silver's_ voice.

Jim's face tightened. "That's it."

"Jim, no," said Sarah, grabbing his arm.

"I'm going out there!" Jim pulled out of her grasp and flung open the stateroom door. He rushed out, Starr and Sarah close behind.

The deck was sheer chaos. Spacers were running everywhere, cannons were firing back and forth, and the air smelt of smoke. Doppler and BEN were hunkered near the controls, covering their heads to avoid flying debris. Captain Amelia stood next to them, calm despite the perilous situation. She turned and glared at them. "I thought I told you three to stay put."

"Sorry!" gasped Starr.

"Where's Silver?" demanded Jim. "Is he alright?"

"Jim, there!" Starr tugged on his sleeve and pointed to the other side of the ship. One of the pirates was wrestling with Silver. As they watched, the pirate tugged out what could only be described as a hand-cannon and fired at Silver. Point-blank range. The cyborg groaned, doubling over. Starr could hear herself screaming.

"SILVER!" Jim was off like a shot, vaulting over the railing and rushing to his side. Starr followed him, tears flooding her eyes.

_Please don't die, please don't die, please don't die…_

"Hawkins, Rose!" cried Amelia, rushing after them. "Watch yourself! More boarders will follow!"

Sarah started to follow her, but Delbert grabbed her arm. "Sarah, stay here. There's enough people over there as it is."

"Delbert, let go!" Sarah glared at him. "Those are my kids!"

"Amelia's with them. They'll be alright. If you go down there, you'd just be putting one more person in danger."

Sarah wrenched her arm free and held up her gun, preparing to fire at any pirate that showed its face.

_"Silver!_" cried Starr, darting through flurries of spacers. Jim jerked her out of the way as a laser blast fired dangerously close to her face, then continued on.

Where was… there! Silver sprawled near the mast. His cyborg arm was severely damaged and the gun has been completely blown away. The pirate stood above him, readying the cannon for a death blow. Then Jim shot the pirate square in the chest. He crumpled like a piece of paper.

"No, no, no!" Tears choked Jim's voice as he knelt next to him, frantically feeling for a pulse. Morph squealed and fluttered about, then started frantically nuzzling Silver's cheek.

Silver moaned, opening his eyes. "Jimbo? What the devil are ye doin' out here?"

"Duck!" cried Starr. Jim crouched over Silver's chest as she fired at a pirate. "Jim, we gotta get him out of here!"

Jim nodded, slinging Silver's good arm around his shoulders. Starr tried to take what was left of his prosthetic, but gave a cry of pain as soon as she touched the hot metal. "Good lord, Silver. That guy really did a number on you."

Morph turned himself into an oven mitt. With his help, Starr gripped the prosthetic again and helped haul him to his feet.

"Tanks, kids," muttered Silver. "I'm alright, now. Takes more than that to keep me down."

Then another blast rattled the ship, sending a huge shockwave across the deck. The three tumbled back down.

"What was that?" gasped Jim, disentangling himself from Silver. "That wasn't from the pirate ship."

"Whatever it was, it didn't feel good!" Amelia leaned over the edge of the ship, her face set. A fleet of ships appeared from behind the planet and approached them. "Excellent, here comes the Navy. We're not going to last much longer."

"Amelia!" cried Doppler from the controls. "All systems are down! We have absolutely no power, and BEN's out, too!"

Amelia cursed, then shot an approaching pirate. "Blast it! We'll have to board one of the Navy ships, or else we're stranded out here!"

"Silver!" Jim had his arm around the bulky cyborg's waist and was struggling to keep him on his feet. "What's wrong?"

"I'm alright, Jimbo," Silver assured him, before nearly pitching to the ground again. "Me bad side is just havin' a rough day of it."

Starr frowned, realizing that the light in his eye had gone out. "That's an understatement. We need to get you fixed up."

"I told ye, I'm alright." Silver frowned, pointing into the Etherium with his good arm. "Looks like they're retreatin'."

"Something's wrong," said Starr. "There's an unknown element. It's like an EMP or something."

"I'm inclined to agree with you," said Amelia.

A blast flew through the air and crashed into the pirate ship, causing it to shudder violently under the impact. Amelia grinned, waving one arm at the nearest Navy ship.

"Ahoy! Captain Amelia! Is that you?" A canid man with a mane of red hair waved back at her from it.

"Admiral Blake!" Amelia shouted back. "You're late, as usual. I trust you'll help us out of this mess. All of our systems have been disabled, so we'll need a ride."

"Anything for you, m'dear." Blake gave her a mocking bow and pulled his ship up alongside. "Climb aboard."

While Amelia helped Doppler and Sarah over, Starr and Jim struggled with Silver. A flicker of life seemed to have come back into his limbs, but he was still off-balance. A young canid girl with bright orange hair came to their aid, pulling Silver over the side.

"Thanks, Kate," panted Jim. He grinned at her. "Didn't expect to see you here."

The girl shrugged. "I do come with my father sometimes. Good to see you, Jim."

Within a few moments, all of the _Legacy's_ crew was onboard Blake's ship. Silver was mostly standing on his own now, though he leaned heavily on Starr for support as Jim tinkered with his leg.

"Did you say that was an EMP?" he asked.

Starr nodded. "Or something similar. It really rocked the ship but it also took out all of the electronics, including BEN."

"And half o' me," grunted Silver. "Whenever I get my hands on the person who did that…"

"That should do it, for now," said Jim. He stood up, brushing off his hands. "It'll need more work, but I think I jury-rigged it enough that you'll have some more mobility."

Silver grinned and ruffled his hair, the light in his cyborg eye coming back on. "Thank ye, lad. Ye did a good job."

"Jim! Starr!" Sarah Hawkins elbowed her way through the crowd and wrapped an arm around each of them. "Are you two alright?"

"We're fine, Mom." Jim gave a small smile and hugged her back. "Everything's fine."

"Jimbo." Silver frowned, resting a hand on the boy's shoulder. "I wouldn't be too sure o' that."

"Huh?" Jim pulled away, looking up at him. "They retreated. Everything's going great."

Starr paled. Beside her, Kate visibly flinched.

"Jim," said Starr, "there's certain phrases everyone should just avoid. That is one of them."

A blast rocked Blake's ship, sending everyone staggering. Amelia rushed to the rail immediately. "I thought those pirates were retreating!"

"They were!" said Blake. "I've sent some of the fastest ships after them."

"Then who keeps firing at us?"

Jim hurried to the edge of the ship and peered over. "There's nobody here except the other Navy ships. Was there a mutiny or something?"

"Jim, get away from there!" Starr rushed over to him, grabbing his arm.

Then another blast rocked the ship, sending everyone flying. With a cry, Starr and Jim tumbled over the side.


	9. Chapter 9

A spike of sheer terror shot through Starr and she clutched Jim desperately. Then breathed a sigh of relief when she realized that they were floating in mid-air. She vaguely heard Sarah screaming cries of "Man overboard!" from the ship behind them. Jim twisted, wrapping one arm around her and making swimming motions with the other. He managed to turn them a bit, but nothing else.

"Physics, Jim," said Starr.

Jim smacked his forehead. "Duh. Instinct took over for a sec. You alright?"

"Yeah. You?"

"Yeah."

"Jimbo! Starr!" called Silver. "Hold on, we're comin' for ye!"

Starr nodded, trying to swallow another wave of panic. Jim was equally terrified. His blue eyes darted about frantically, looking for anything they could grab onto. They were still moving, drifting further and further away from the ship.

They were in the outer reaches of the Etherium. Was it her imagination, or was the air already getting thin?

Then a piece of debris hit her in the back, sending them spinning faster. Starr gave a frightened squeak, tightening her grip on Jim. "Jim, listen. Don't hold your breath. We're not gonna have air, but don't hold your breath."

"I know," said Jim.

Starr tried to say something, anything, but the air was gone. She gasped, struggling to breathe, but there was nothing. She was hot and cold all at once and there was just _nothing_. No air. Panic seized her and she began hyperventilating, choking on air that simply didn't exist. She was going to die. They were both going to die. Jim went limp in her arms and she tried to scream, but no sound came out.

_In the void of space, nobody can hear you scream._

The stars she'd loved so much were blurring, dipping, whirling about like a kaleidoscope. She would be floating forever in an airless void. Their bodies would just keep going, two people lost in the darkness of space. Something gripped her shoulder and she weakly struck out at it in her panic.

Then the void closed in on her.

~*~

"Easy, lass. Take it easy. Deep breaths, now."

Starr groaned, struggling to open her eyes and taking a deep breath. Wait… she was breathing. She gasped, taking in huge gulps of air. Fresh air had never felt so good.

Strong hands were supporting her, helping her sit up and rubbing her back gently. Starr finally looked up to see Silver's worried face peering down at her. Morph squealed in delight, nuzzling her cheek.

"Silver?" panted Starr. "Wha… what happened?"

"Ye floated out of the Etherium," said Silver gently. "I'm just glad we got te ye in time. How do ye feel?"

Starr made a wry face. "Honestly, dreadful."

"That's to be expected."

"Where are we? Where… Jim! Is Jim alright?"

"He's right next te ye." Silver chuckled slightly, pointing to a still form on Lindsey's right. Jim was as white as a sheet and still unconscious, but his chest was rising and falling regularly. Starr breathed a sigh of relief.

It was then that she first registered just what they were sitting on. They appeared to be floating in midair, but it felt like they were sitting on a piece of metal. Starr frowned, poking at it. She couldn't _see_ it, but she could feel it just fine. "What in the world?"

"As far as I've gathered, we're on a stealth ship of some kind," said Silver. "I've heard rumors o' tings like this, but didn't think they were real."

"Fascinating." For the first time, Starr began really taking stock of her surroundings. They appeared to be in the middle of nowhere. The Navy and Calenapis were nowhere in sight. Then the world dipped around her again and she shuddered, leaning back against Silver. He frowned, putting an arm around her.

"Ye need to take it easy, Starr. Ye can't just walk that off."

"Where are we?" said Starr. "What happened back there?"

"I went after ye with a skiff when ye fell," said Silver. "I'd just gotten ye back to safety when this thing rammed us and it fell to pieces. I fell on it and brought ye with me and it just took off. The Cap'n looked fit to be tied, but it's faster than the Navy ships."

Starr glanced down at Jim again, brushing a stray lock of hair out of his eyes. "Poor Sarah. Do you think whoever's driving this knows we're up here?"

There was a whirring noise and the surface underneath them began vibrating. Silver tensed, drawing her behind him. "I think ye could say that."

A circle appeared near them, giving them glimpses of a bare, white room. Silver scooped up Jim with one arm and went to click his prosthetic into a gun, but stopped. Jim had managed to get his hand back, but the other appendages were badly damaged. Starr rose unsteadily too her feet, cupping a hand around Morph and shoving him into her pocket.

Several men in Naval-esque uniforms climbed out of the ship, surrounding them. Silver growled at them, raising his cyborg fist for a punch.

Then one grabbed Starr from behind, holding a knife to her throat. She froze, turning white. A dangerous expression spread over Silver's face.

"What do ye want?" he snarled.

The man holding Starr jerked her backwards towards the hole and gestured for Silver to follow. He hesitated, and the man pressed the knife almost to the point of breaking the skin. A shudder ran up Starr's spine and she tried not to let her terror show.

"Don't hurt her," grunted Silver. "If ye do, ye're a dead man."

The man made no reply except to beckon him down the hole. Silver sighed and climbed down.

The room had no furnishings whatsoever. The whole thing was the same blinding, uniform white. Bright lights implanted in the ceiling glared down at them, increasing the pounding in Starr's already throbbing head. Her captor released her, filing out with the others through an open doorway.

"Starr?" asked Silver, propping Jim against the wall. "Are ye alright?"

Starr's knees buckled. Silver caught her before she could fall and eased her to the ground. "Easy, lass. Some day ye've been havin'."

She nodded, trying to catch her breath. "I'll be alright. But what about Jim? He's been out for a long time."

Silver sighed, shooting the unconscious boy a concerned glance. "Ye know how Jim is. He doesn't sleep a lot, but once he's out, he's out. He'll be alright when he comes to."

Starr nodded again, curling up against him. "Silver? What do you think's happening?"

"I wish I knew, lass. I wish I knew."

They sat in silence for what seemed like hours. Starr had begun to doze off when the sound of footsteps startled her awake. Silver gently moved her aside and stood in front of her and Jim. Starr growled, instinctively gathering Jim into her arms and scowling at the door. _Just try and get him, you creeps._

The door swung open and a man stepped in. He was a tall human, with a brown beard, sunken blue eyes, and long brown hair pulled back at the nape of his neck. Silver snarled, doubling his fists.

"Please, I mean no harm." The man held up his hands and stepped forwards.

"Is that so?" said Silver. "Then why'd ye kidnap us, shoot at our ships, and threaten the lass?"

"I thought you were attacking me. And as for the girl, it was necessary to make sure you didn't attack my crew. Besides, you have something I wanted."

Something in his voice made Starr very uneasy. The man's gaze fell on Jim and she shuddered, pressing him closer.

"Give me one good reason why I shouldn't kill ye here and now." Silver glowered at him, his eye glinting red.

"Because nobody else knows how to pilot this ship. If you kill me, you'll be left to drift in the Etherium until someone bumps into you. Also, you're outnumbered. You can't fight my whole crew off."

Silver slumped slightly, but the scowl remained fixed on his face.

"My name is Captain Nemo. Welcome aboard the _Nautilus_."

Jim's eyes flickered open and he began to stir, groaning. "Ugh. Wha…"

"Shh, Jim," whispered Starr. "We're in a tight spot, but it'll be alright."

Jim pushed himself up and looked around. His eyes widened when he spotted Captain Nemo and he clutched Starr's arm in a white-knuckled grip. "You!"

Nemo started back, looking like he'd seen a ghost. His face paled. "What… how… _Jim?_"

Silver looked between the two of them quickly. "Jimbo? What's goin' on?"

Jim was breathing heavily, one hand still on Starr's arm and the other clenched into a fist. "What are you _doing_ here?"

"What's the matter, Jim?" asked Nemo softly. "You don't want to see your father?"


	10. Chapter 10

Silver and Starr froze, gaping at the man. Jim shuddered again, tears springing to his eyes.

"Is that him?" said Starr softly.

Jim didn't answer.

"I'm sorry this had to happen," said Nemo. "I… it's good to see you again."

"Go away!" snapped Jim. "Let us go!"

"Look, son. I'm sorry. I'm sorry about everything."

"Sorry. _You're_ sorry? We're the ones who had to pick up your mess! How could you do that to us? How could you do that to Mom?"

"Jim…"

"Do you have any _idea_ how much that hurt her? How much that hurt me?"

"I just couldn't handle it, Jim. I was going to come back, I really was. But… things happened."

"I don't want to have _anything_ to do with you. Now, let. Us. Go."

"I can't." Nemo sighed, looking at the ground. "I wanted to see you again, but I didn't think it'd end up like this."

"What?" snarled Silver. "Ye've got to let us off!"

"I _can't_." Nemo glared back at him. "You'll tell people about this ship, and then they'll come and find me. No. You stay here."

"You can't do that!" spat Jim. He stepped forwards, clenching his fists. "You can't keep us prisoner here!"

"You'll have as much liberty as any members of my crew. You'll get to see parts of the universe you never even dreamed of. You aren't prisoners."

"Use a dictionary," said Jim. "We can't leave. That makes us prisoners."

"I'm sorry. But I can't let you go. You will be escorted to cabins shortly. At certain times you may be confined in this room, but those will be rare." Nemo turned and began striding out of the room.

"What about Mom?" said Jim.

Nemo froze. "What?"

"What about Mom? I'm the only thing she has left now. You left us, and now you want to take me away, too? How can you be so _selfish?"_

Nemo didn't answer.

"I thought you loved her once. I guess I was wrong."

"It's not my fault you ended up on this ship," said Nemo coldly. "Don't ever speak of her again." With that, he left the room.

"AGH!" Jim aimed a kick at the wall, then sank against it, gripping at his hair with both hands. "I can't… I can't believe this! I can't believe _him!"_

Silver put a hand on his shoulder. "We'll get out o' this, Jimbo. We can escape."

"From a fully-armed crew in an unsteerable ship? I… I just… I can't…"

"I'm so sorry, lad."

"Why did it have to be _him,_ of all people?" The words came out in a broken whisper. Jim's blue eyes filled with tears again and he sniffed, swiping at his face with his sleeve.

Starr and Silver hugged him at the same moment.

"We'll get out of this, Jim," whispered Starr. "I promise."

"How?" asked Jim bitterly. "Can you do something?"

"I can't Travel with other people. Not inside their home universe, at least. But… there is something I can do. I don't know that I'll be able to play this card again, though."

Silver frowned at her. "What are ye talkin' about?"

"Jim, will you explain?" Starr carefully extricated herself from the group hug. "I'm going to go talk to your mother."

Jim grabbed her wrist. "Thanks. She doesn't deserve any of this. Just… please, don't tell her about him yet. Okay?"

"I won't." Starr smiled at them, then faded away. Silver gaped, looking from where she had been standing to the still-crying Jim.

"Lad, ye've got a lot of explainin' to do."

~*~

Sarah Hawkins collapsed against the rail, sobbing. She'd never felt so helpless. Her son, adopted daughter, and Silver had been whisked away before her eyes and she hadn't been able to do _anything_ to stop it.

"Oh, Sarah, I am so sorry." Doppler buried his head in his hands, tears leaking from between his fingers. "I am so sorry."

A hand landed on each of their shoulders and squeezed. Captain Amelia gave her a soft smile. "Shhh. Dry those tears, now. We'll find them again, I promise. Hawkins and Curtis are as smart as paint, and they've got Silver."

Sarah nodded weakly, struggling to breathe. Hadn't losing Leland been enough? Did Jim and Starr have to go, too?

"Admiral Blake." Amelia straightened, turning to him. "I presume you have some decent tea somewhere on this tub."

"Of course I do," said Blake. "Mrs. Hawkins, why don't you sit in my stateroom? Kate, would you mind bringing up a pot of tea?"

Kate seemed pretty shaken herself. She nodded, clearly relieved at having something to do. "Of course. I'll be right up with that."

Sarah allowed Captain Amelia to lead her to Blake's stateroom. It was a fine affair, but with a slight feminine touch. Probably the work of Kate. Amelia left her at a table with the promise to be back soon, and Sarah found herself alone again.

Then, suddenly, there was a hand on her shoulder. Sarah looked up dully, expecting Amelia or Kate. Instead, she found herself looking into a pair of bright blue eyes. "Starr?"

"Oh, Sarah!" Lindsey hugged her tightly, burying her face in the older woman's shoulder. Sarah stroked her back, tears slipping from her eyes.

"Starr, honey, what are you doing here? Are you okay? Where's Jim? Are you Traveling? Is Jim okay?" Sarah frowned, taking her by the shoulders. "Oh, you look _awful_. Are you sure you're alright?"

Starr nodded. "I'm okay. We're all okay. We were taken away by a stealth ship. Completely invisible. We landed on it and they eventually took us inside. We're prisoners, really, but we're safe and I think they'll treat us well. We're working on escape, but it might take a while."

"Oh, god." Sarah hugged her again. "Prisoners?"

"We're safe, Sarah." Starr gave her the hint of a smile. "And we'll make it back to you, I promise. But in the meantime, we may be stuck but we're safe and well cared for. Just think of it as… we're on vacation, or at a camp, or something. But we will make it back. Silver's determined to protect us, and I won't let anything happen to Jim if I can help it. He sends his love."

Sarah smiled tearfully. "Tell Jim to take care of himself, and tell Silver that he'd better take good care of my kids. And please, be careful. Try to escape and come home, but be careful."

"We will. I've got to go back, now. But the ship we're on is called the _Nautilus._ I don't know much about it and I don't think I'll be able to come back here. If you can find a way to get that to Captain Amelia, it might help. Though how you'll track it, I don't know."

"Speaking of tracking, the Navy did catch Pew."

"Good," grunted Starr. "Damn lizard."

Sarah gave a wry chuckle, then gave the girl one last squeeze. "Take care of yourself, honey. Be safe."

"I will, mum." Lindsey smiled at her, swiping a sleeve across her eyes.

There was a knock on the door and Sarah hurried to answer it. When she looked back, Starr was gone.

~*~

Jim and Silver were looking at her expectantly when she reappeared.

"Well?" said Jim.

Starr sniffed, barely restraining a sob. "I told her. She sends her love, Jim, and wants you to take care of yourself. Silver, she says to take good care of her kids."

"Tha' I will," said Silver.

"Thanks for doing that," said Jim. He was still pale and his eyes were red from crying. Starr took his hand and gave it a squeeze.

"Of course. I couldn't just let her think we were dead and not know what really happened."

The door opened and several crewmen filed in. Starr stiffened, instantly on the alert. Silver's cyborg eye glinted red as he stepped in front of the teens.

"Come with us," a felid man said. "We'll take you to your cabins."

Silver hesitated, but Starr stepped past him and nodded. "Thank you."


	11. Chapter 11

They were lead through dim corridors with wood-paneled walls and orange lamps lighting the way. Starr walked with her back straight, shoulders back, and head held high, trying to portray a confidence she didn't feel. Jim, meanwhile, stared at the ground. His hands were shoved deep into his jacket pockets and the old scowl was back on his face.

They caught glimpses of navigation instruments and displays in other rooms, as well as a dining room and a library with a window that looked out on the stars. Then they were led into two small rooms that stood next to each other. Jim and Silver took one, while Starr took the other.

Both rooms were small and bare, with plain wooden walls. Starr sighed, sitting down on her bunk and pulling her knees to her chest. At least there was a small, round window. Starr pressed her face against it and stared longingly out at the stars.

All her life, she'd dreamt of being among them. She'd gotten to do it, but not matter how many times she stared into the universe, it was never enough. They twinkled brightly and she gave a small smile, wishing she was back out there. Exploring the far reaches of the Etherium.

Morph flew up to her and squeaked. She smiled, stroking him. "Hey, Morph. Been quite a day, huh?"

Morph turned into Nemo and pulled a sour face. Starr winced, cupping him in her hand. "Yeah. I don't like him much, either."

Jim slipped in the door, his chin still buried in his coat collar. He looked up slightly as he entered. "Hey, Starr, have you seen… oh. There you are, Morph."

Morph flew to him happily, nuzzling his cheek and going through a rapid series of shape changes. Jim chuckled weakly and sunk down on the bunk.

He looked so _tired_. He just kept staring at the floor, Morph barely able to coax a smile out of him. The dark shadows under his eyes had returned full-force. How could that boy look so old and so young at the same time? Starr sighed, moving closer to him. She let one leg dangle off the edge of the bed and kept hugging the other to her chest. "Hey."

Jim looked up at her slowly. "Do you know what's going to happen when you do this? You said somebody wrote my story."

Starr shook her head. "Usually, no. But sometimes I can guess."

"You knew what was going to happen today."

"It's a sense you get after a while. You know just when things are most likely to go wrong. Sometimes it hits you out of nowhere, but other times you can just _feel_ it but you can't do anything about it and you want to scream. You can't alter the story."

"Will you teach me?"

Starr cocked her head. "Teach you what?"

"How to Travel. Teach Silver, too. Then we can get out of here."

"Oh, Jim. I wish it worked like that." Starr sighed, shifting uncomfortably.

"I know, you can't Travel inside your own universe."

"Believe me, if I could, I'd just go away from everything all the time. I can Travel here because it isn't my universe. You can Travel outside your universe, but not in it."

"But you can escape for a while, right? I mean, isn't that what you're doing?"

"Yeah." Starr gave him a small smile. "Yeah, you can. You can help other people with their adventures and forget about everything that's going on at home."

"Then teach us."

"I should be able to teach you, but I'm not so sure I can teach Silver. It takes a special type to Travel. Young people usually do it best. You have to be young enough to use your imagination and believe in magic, but old enough to think on your feet and figure out how to get through things, and to know when to take a step back and let the story take over. Time doesn't work the same way when you Travel. You could be gone for days, weeks, months, or longer, but it'll just take a few hours here."

"Sounds perfect. When do we learn?"

Starr had just opened her mouth to answer when a bell rang. She yelped, starting violently.

A crewman appeared at the door. "Time for dinner."

"No." Jim relapsed sulkily into his collar.

"Jim…" Starr sighed.

"I'm not hungry."

Silver came up behind the crewman, scowling and crossing his arms. "Look. They've had a long day. Can't ye bring somethin' down?"

The man sighed, looking from the dejected teenagers to the cyborg. "The Captain insists, I'm afraid."

"I'm not going."

"Look, boy. The Captain _insists._ Now, do I have to drag you?"

Jim hesitated, then scowled darkly. "Fine!" he spat, stomping out of the room. Starr and Silver exchanged worried looks, then followed.

Dinner was horrifically awkward. Everyone picked at their food and nobody really ate. Jim's scowl hadn't relented as he shoved a piece of whale blubber around his plate. The only happy person at t he table was Morph. The shapeshifter flew around, turning into whales, everyone at the table, and various things he'd seen about the ship. He stopped these antics long enough to steal bits of food off of everyone's plates.

Nemo cleared his throat. "So… what is he?"

"He's a morph," replied Silver shortly.

"Right. Of course." Nemo glanced around at his guests. Jim was as sullen as ever and Silver was unreadable. Starr was nervous, alternating between tapping her fingers against the base of her skull and twisting a lock of hair around them. "Ah… Jim. How old are you now?"

"Sixteen," spat Jim. "Not that you'd care."

"Jim… I thought you'd be better off without me. I really did."

"You thought wrong."

Starr felt tears pricking at her eyelids at the unbearable tension. She clenched her fists under the table, determined _not _to start crying now.

"Were… were you up to anything interesting back home?"

"Stop raggin' the boy!" broke in Silver. "Ye ran off an' left him years ago and now ye've taken him away from his home. Ye don't get te tryin an' act like a decent father now!"

Nemo glared at him. "Forgive me for trying to get to know my son."

"I'm _not _your son," growled Jim. "You told me that when you ran away. And for your information, I was enrolled in the Royal Interstellar Academy. I was learning to be a spacer! Heck, I could've been a captain one day! But _you_ had to come back and take away my future. _Again_."

"Jim…"

"Stop it." Jim pushed his chair back and stood up. "Stop acting like you care. Just leave me alone!" He stomped out of the room and Starr hurried after him, nearly tripping over her own chair in the process. Once the teens were gone, Silver and Nemo engaged in a staring contest.

"Who are you, anyways?" said Nemo. "With… everything going on, I never got your names."

"The lass is Starr," said Silver. "Me name's Long John Silver, and I'm the closest thing that lad o' yers has to a father. A lot closer than ye'll ever be. Now, stop actin' like you have a right to me kids! Ye gave up any right ye had to be Jim's pap when ye ran off and left him."

~*~

Jim was crying again. He grunted in frustration, swiping at the tears. Why in the world had his father had to come _back?_ Just when he thought the old wound had healed, it'd opened up again.

Starr caught up to him and gently pulled him into a hug. "I'm so sorry, Jim."

Jim hugged her back, releasing a huge sigh. "Will you teach me now? I need to get away for a while."

"Of course." She stepped into the library and began scanning the bookshelves, squinting at titles.

Jim cocked his head. "Books? How's that going to help?"

"What, you don't read?"

"Of course I _read_. I just haven't had a lot of time for it lately. I read every book on Treasure Planet I could find as a kid, but when I got older I preferred solar surfing."

"Hmmm." Starr ran her fingers over the spines. "We need something exciting."

"Hey, what's this?" Jim tugged a volume off of the shelf and scanned the cover. "Treasure Island. Huh."

"Woah!" Starr snatched it out of his hands. "What the heck… that is _not_ supposed to be here. Somebody's been messing with timelines."

Jim gave her a look. "What?"

"Complicated. Really, really complicated. Let's not do Treasure Island. Uhhh… what else is in here?" She smiled, fishing a book off the wall. "Aha, here's a good one. The Adventures of Sherlock Homes." She sat down on the couch and patted the seat next to her. "Traveling is simple, so long as you have the imagination for it. The books are the keys. Books, movies, radio… any form of media is how you enter worlds."

"I'm… not sure I'm following."

"Jim, have you ever loved a book so much that you wanted to be inside it? Wished you could live it?"

Jim smiled softly. "Yeah. I did that with all of my Treasure Planet books."

"Great." She opened the book. "Now, do that here. Don't just read the book, live the book. Picture yourself there."

"This is ridiculous. I'm not gonna get there just because I believe, am I?"

"Actually, yeah. That's what gets you in."

Jim leaned forwards, scanning the words on the page. A small flat in the middle of London, in the 1880s. Jim took a deep breath, imagining he could smell the tobacco smoke and hear the crackling of the fire. Feel the heat on his skin. He closed his eyes, picturing the place.

"That's it, Jim! You're doing it!" said Starr.

Jim opened his eyes and looked down at the book, then gasped. A blue-rimmed portal had appeared on the page, slowly opening to show the flat he'd been picturing. Hesitantly, he stuck his arm through it.

Then the world around him dissolved. He was there, in 221B Baker Street. Starr smiled, stepping in beside him. Sherlock Holmes didn't seem to find anything strange about the intrusion and simply nodded to them, before turning back to the client in the chair.


	12. Chapter 12

Jim and Starr stumbled into breakfast late the next morning, both rubbing their eyes and yawning. A droopy Morph followed them. Starr chuckled at the shapeshifter, letting him crawl into her hand.

Silver and Nemo were already at the table, eating in stony silence. Jim slid into a chair next to Silver and his eyes lit up at the sight of a coffee pot.

Breakfast continued in the same awkward silence as the previous night until Nemo cleared his throat loudly. "Since you'll be staying here, I might as well show you around the ship. We'll start after breakfast."

Jim glowered at him from around Silver.

"Look, Jim. I'm sorry I have to keep you here. But you might as well make the best of it."

Starr gave Jim a pointed look from across the table. "I'd love to see the ship."

"We're comin'," grunted Silver.

"Fine," said Jim, setting down his fork. "Let's go see our prison."

Everyone rose from the table, Jim and Starr lagging behind the adults.

"We need to know the ship to escape," whispered Starr.

"I _know,_" grunted Jim.

"Here's the library," said Nemo, gesturing to the open door. He nodded at the sight of Sherlock Holmes lying on the table. "I see you've already found it. You're free to use it at any time and read anything in there. Over here is an art collection. The engine room's that way and down here is the hangar. We've got several cloaked pods and spacesuits for exploring outside the Etherium.

Jim shuddered. "Why would you want to go outside the Etherium?"

"For research purposes, of course."

He lead them up a flight of stairs and into a room where electronic displays lined every wall and various contraptions stood in corners. "This… is the bridge."

Starr's eyes darted about, trying to take in everything at once. Even Jim had perked up slightly.

"What does this do?" he asked, examining a board of buttons.

"Those are our shields, that's cloaking, and this is the ion cannon."

Starr's head shot up. "Ion cannon? Where did you get that?"

"Where I got that is not important."

"What does it do?" asked Jim.

"It's a blaster that fires ionized particles and disrupts all electronics."

"So that's what we got hit with," grunted Silver, looking down at his cyborg limbs. "Which reminds me, I'm goin' to need some spare parts."

Nemo nodded. "I can supply those."

"Ion cannon," muttered Starr. "That… that's the wrong tech. Wrong universe."

Jim gave her a concerned look. "What's up?"

Starr frowned. "I don't know."

"Here's our navigation equipment," continued Nemo, gesturing to a wall of displays, holograms, and star charts.

"Where are we?" asked Starr, studying a holo-map.

"Nearing the Coral Galaxy."

"Great." Jim rolled his eyes, crossing his arms. "I can't persuade you to drop me off at Montressor?"

"Jim, we've been over this."

Silver glared at Nemo. "And why is it that ye're so set on keepin' us here?"

"I don't want anyone to know about me. If they knew, they'd try to find me. I want to be alone."

"So you're forcing us to live a life of solitude too." Starr scowled, clenching her fists. "In spite of the families we have back home. In spite of your wife."

Nemo glared at her dangerously. "Do not mention her like that. And I'm doing you a favor. Society is a mess. You're better off out of it."

"We're bein' forcibly removed!" said Silver.

"This is not open for discussion." Nemo straightened, looking at them coldly. "The tour is over. The rest of the ship is of no consequence."

"C'mon, kids." Silver put a hand on each of their shoulders and strode out of the room. He ushered them into his and Jim's cabin, then took a seat on a bunk. "We're getting out o' here."

"We better be," muttered Jim.

"Steal a pod?" said Starr.

Silver nodded. "We'll have te learn how the ship works and when the crew does what."

"Which could take a while. We also have to learn how to steer the pods. And we need to repair Silver."

"Pretty sure I can steer a pod," said Jim.

Starr raised her eyebrows at him. "Remember the time you tried to steer a cruiser? And then crashed?"

"That was one time."

"Maybe you should try and watch first."

Jim rolled his eyes, a smile twitching at the corner of his mouth. "Fine."

~*~

The next few days passed slowly. Silver and Nemo had called a ceasefire, though they kept shooting each other looks. Starr was generally awkward and quiet around the captain, while Jim was distant and sullen. The teens avoided him as much as possible, choosing to spend the time when they weren't studying the ship or working on Silver's repairs in the library. The _Nautilus_ was a quiet place. The crew rarely spoke, just went about their duties. Nemo himself avoided them nearly as much as they avoided him, though Starr frequently caught him casting sad looks in Jim's direction.

One day, they were studying a diagram of the ship when Nemo appeared in the library door, clearing his throat. "Jim. Starr."

Starr started violently, nearly falling off her chair. Jim shot him a death glare. "What."

Nemo winced, looking away and rubbing at the back of his neck. "I was wondering if you'd like to come with me on a little expedition."

"Where to?" said Jim.

"There's a nebula I'd like you to see. It's quite a sight. But it's outside the Etherium, so we'll have to use suits."

Jim hesitated, but Starr nudged him. Pods, she mouthed.

"Fine," grunted Jim.

Starr grinned, trying to restrain her enthusiasm. While this was an ideal opportunity to learn how to work the pods, she was thrilled at the thought of seeing a nebula. "Sweet! Is Silver coming?"

"I'm not sure I have a suit his size."

Jim glared at him.

"Oh, come on, Jim," sighed Nemo. "I'm not going to jettison you into space. I really don't have a suit that size, or one that would accommodate his prosthetics. All the gears would get stuck in the lining.

"It'll be fine, Jim," whispered Starr.

"Alright, alright," sighed Jim. "Let's go see the nebula."

Down in the hangar, the trio climbed into some bulky spacesuits. Starr muffled a laugh as she stuck her helmet under her arm.

"This remind you of anything?"

Jim snorted. "Yeah, you look like Dr. Doppler. Except your suit actually _fits._"

"That thing really was ridiculous."

"Come on, you two." Nemo ushered them inside the pod. It was small, but not cramped. Seats lined the walls, and in the front was a chair with controls in the arms and a holographic display surrounding it. Nemo took a seat in that chair and began adjusting the controls. Starr twisted in her seat, pressing her hands against the window and staring out into space.

"Ever seen a nebula before?" said Nemo.

"I've flown through them a few times." Starr shifted, looking at him over her shoulder. "How close will we get?"

"These suits will let us walk in it. If we're lucky, we may be able to see the birth of a star."

Starr's whole face lit up. "Really?"

"Really."

Jim leaned forwards, examining the control chair. "So… uh… how does this thing work?"

Nemo gave him a small smile. "Come look over my shoulder, Jim. See, that's the map, here's steering, thrust, brakes…"

Starr smiled, leaning back and watching them. Jim had been hesitant at first, but he soon started pointing out things and asking about different functions. Nemo responded enthusiastically, explaining how the pod worked and details about how to steer it. They hunched over the controls with matching sunken blue eyes and focused expressions. For a moment, they actually looked like father and son.

"Well." Nemo straightened, pressing a button. The pod stopped suddenly, nearly sending Jim lurching to the floor. "We're here."

"Great!" Starr got to her feet and began tugging on her helmet. Nemo helped her fasten it, then helped Jim with his.

"There's communicators in the helmets," explained Nemo. He pressed a button and a trapdoor opened, leading into a small, box-like room. Once down there, he opened a hatch and clipped cords to the backs of all three suits. "Those are to make sure you don't float off into the middle of nowhere. The suits work by jet propulsion. There's pressure pads in your gloves and boots that control it." He pressed a button and the walls folded into the floor, leaving them standing on a metal platform. Starr found the pad in her boot and pressed it gently, then found herself flying through space. The pod fell behind her as she floated towards the nebula. Out of the corners of her eyes, she could see Jim and Nemo on other side of her.

Then, she was in the cloud. Everything was pink and green and purple and blue and red. All the colors of the universe swirled about her, dancing before her eyes. She gave a delighted laugh, reaching out and disrupting a swirl of electric purple gas. It swirled around her glove and for a moment, she held a nebula in her hands. Then it was gone, continuing into space.

"Woah," gasped Jim.

"Told you it was a sight," said Nemo. "Now, look down there."

He pointed through the mesmerizing swirls of gas towards the center of the nebula. Starr gasped.

A bright light was shining, causing her to shield her eyes despite the tinted glass of her helmet.

"I've been keeping my eye out for a while. That is a star being born."

"Really?" Starr could hear the grin in Jim's voice. "Is it going to explode or something?"

"No, it won't explode. These things take a pretty long time to grow."

Starr felt as though she could've stayed there forever, floating in the clouds of stardust and watching the baby star. Unfortunately, Nemo decided it was time to go back.

They flew back to the pod, casting reluctant glances over their shoulders. Nemo landed on the platform expertly and Jim followed with barely a wobble. When Starr tried it, the toe of her boot caught on the platform. With the artificial gravity taking control, she fell flat on her face. Jim snorted, reaching down to help her up.

"Don't do that," said Nemo. "You'll activate your pads and go shooting back out into space."

Jim hastily put his hand back down. Starr giggled, moving into the center of the platform as Nemo raised the walls again.

"The pads automatically deactivate when the walls are up. You can get up now."

"Thanks." Starr climbed to her feet. Once the pressure had equalized, he opened the trapdoor and they climbed back into the pod.

Starr pulled off her helmet and gloves, grinning wildly. "That. Was. Incredible."

"I know, right?" Jim set his helmet on a seat. "The baby star!"

Starr bounced on the balls of her feet. "That was so cool!"

Nemo chuckled, removing his own helmet. "I'm glad you two enjoyed it. Here, Jim. Wanna fly us back?"

Jim turned to him. "Really?"

"Sure. I showed you the ropes on the way up."

Jim grinned, taking his place in the pilot's seat. He steered them back without a single hitch.

"That was _amazing_," said Starr. They were safely back onboard the Nautilus and pulling off their suits. "Thanks for taking us."

Nemo nodded. "Glad you went, Jimbo?"

Jim stiffened. "What?"

"I asked if you were glad you went."

_"Don't_ call me Jimbo again." Jim scowled darkly, before stomping away with his hands sunk deep in his pockets.

Nemo sighed, his shoulders slumping. "Just when we were getting along."

Starr gulped, shifting from foot to foot. "What you did… it hurt Jim. A lot. He was finally getting over it when this happened, and now he's back to square one."

"I can't make it up to him, can I?"

Starr gave a bitter laugh. "You left him and his mother alone to pick up the mess you made, gave Jim a lot of emotional issues and made him feel worthless, and left Sarah to deal with that alone. Jim thought it was his fault. And then you kidnapped us…"

"I did not kidnap you…"

_"Kidnapped_ us and you're refusing to let us go home. No, you can't just _make up_ for that. Maybe you could change, after you let us off. But that doesn't mean that he'll be ready to forgive." She glared at him and scrambled after Jim.

Nemo sighed, walking off in the opposite direction.


	13. Chapter 13

A few nights later, Starr was awoken by an alarm blaring in her ears. She rolled out of bed, hitting the floor in a mass of blankets. Her door slammed open and Jim appeared, hair tousled and clothes disheveled. Silver stood behind him with Morph on his shoulder.

"Wha's going on?" Starr struggled to untangle herself from the blankets. Jim gave her a hand up.

"Dunno," he gasped.

"Jim! Starr!" Captain Nemo peered around Silver. "And Silver. I'm sorry, but this is one of those times when I'll have to lock you up."

"Oh, no ye don't," growled Silver. "Ye ain't lockin' us anywhere."

Nemo tugged Silver down to his level and whispered something into his ear. Silver paled visibly, horror dawning in his eyes. Then his face set in a determined line. "Aye. I understand."

"It's for your own good," said Nemo. "Come with me."

Jim and Starr exchanged frightened looks as they were herded down the hall. Starr glanced out of one of the windows as they went by. She spotted a long, pale tentacle with suction cups as big as her hands floating past. She shivered, turning away.

There was a meal laid out inside the blank white room they'd first found themselves in. Starr looked down at the food and then up at Nemo, confused.

"You may be in here for some time," said Nemo. "I thought some food would be a good idea."

"Nemo," said Silver in a low voice. "I've got no desire te see those things again, but I'd do a great deal more to keep those pups safe. If ye need me…"

Nemo shook his head. "No. I think we have the situation well in hand." He shut the door, leaving them alone.

"What's happening?" said Jim. "What was that about? What things?"

"Nevermind, Jimbo."

"I want to know." Jim glared at him. "What is going on?"

"I'll explain it to ye later, lad."

"I'm not just a kid, Silver!"

"Yes, ye are. And it's not somethin' I can talk about right now."

Jim scowled and plopped down on the floor. Starr sat next to him.

"I have an idea about what's going on," she whispered. "I'll tell you when the excitement's over and Silver isn't listening."

Jim nodded slightly. He picked up a piece of whale blubber and nibbled at it absently. Starr pulled her legs to her chest and stared down at the food, wincing at the sounds of crashing and voices from the outside walls.

"Ye should eat, lass," said Silver.

"'m not really hungry," she murmured.

"Frightened? I thought ye'd faced worse tings than this."

Starr chuckled wryly. "I've seen all kinds of things, but I'm usually out there facing them. Not locked up in a room just listening."

"It is a bit unnervin'. But ye still need to eat."

Starr sighed, reluctantly taking a few bites of food. Morph zipped around, taking nibbles of every dish. Silver, however, touched nothing. He simply leaned back against one of the walls, an unreadable expression on his face.

Jim gave a huge yawn and pushed away his plate. He leaned against Silver, who put an arm around him. Within moments, he was asleep. Morph curled up on top of his head, asleep as well.

_How can they sleep at a time like this?_ Starr wondered. Then she felt her own eyelids growing heavy. She stiffened in a moment of panic, barely able to stay awake. "The food," she mumbled. "Something… in the food…"

"Shhh," whispered Silver, putting his metal arm around her and pulling her close. "It's alright. Ye're alright."

That was enough for her. Starr curled up against him and closed her eyes.

~*~

It was the next day when the door opened. Nemo stepped in, then stopped when he saw that Silver staring at him coolly.

"Silver. You're awake." He didn't seem surprised. "You didn't eat the food, then."

"Just in case tings didn't go as ye wanted them to," said Silver. "So ye beat them?"

Nemo nodded. "We're safe now. I thought I'd take you back to your rooms."

Silver arched an eyebrow. "Were ye plannin' on carryin' me?"

"I had a suspicion you wouldn't fall for the food." Nemo looked at Jim for a moment, then scooped Starr into his arms instead. The girl stirred slightly, but sighed and relaxed again. Silver climbed to his feet, then carefully lifted Jim.

"They'll be out for a few hours yet," said Nemo. "I'll have breakfast ready. They'll probably be ravenous when they wake up."

"Nemo…" Silver hesitated, glancing down at the sleeping boy in his arms. "Thank ye fer makin' sure they were taken care of durin' this. I don't like ye and I don't trust ye, but thank ye."

Nemo nodded and they continued down the passage.

~*~

Starr awoke to a raging headache the next morning. She groaned, sitting up and rubbing her temples. "Wha…"

"Morning," grumbled a voice. Jim was lying in the bed across from hers, scowling.

Wait. Her cabin's other bed was still folded into the wall. "What happened? Why am I in your room? Something about food."

"I think we were drugged," grumbled Jim. "I'm guessing your head is about to split open, too."

"Well, would ye look at that." Silver came into the room, a still-sleeping Morph riding on his shoulder. "The sleepin' beauties are finally awake."

"Ugh." Jim glared at him. "Is there coffee? Why'd they drug us?"

"I don't rightly know, lad," said Silver. "An' ye can get up and get yer own coffee."

"Don't I get a _little_ sympathy?" Jim tried his best to look pitiful. "My head is killing me."

"There's somethin' fer yer head at breakfast." Silver grinned maliciously. "Aside from that, there's nothin' wrong wit' ye. Now, if we were back on the _Legacy_ I'd put ye to work, but for now I'll just have te give ye some more readin' te do. There's more books about ships an' space travel in the library. Read up on 'em."

"Fine," grumbled Jim. He climbed out of bed and ran a hand through his hair, causing it to stick up at every angle. "I'm hungry."

"Breakfast's in the dinin' room."

"Good." Starr crawled out of bed. "Let's go."

They started down the hall. Jim turned to her once they were out of earshot. "So, what do you think that was?"

"A squid," said Starr. "Like the one Silver was talking about. I saw it out of the window."

"The squid that took pretty much the entire right side of his body. Great." Jim shook his head. "Why didn't he tell us?"

"When we were back on the ship, it was just another tall tale. Now it's real and can hurt us. Nemo didn't want us to know, either."

Breakfast was a silent affair. Nemo merely picked at his food, his face worn and haggard. Dark circles were under his reddened eyes. Finally, he cleared his throat. "Silver, how much do you know of medicine?"

"I know some basics, but no' much," said Silver. "Why?"

"I know first aid and how to treat wounds," said Starr, "but I doubt I know much more than Silver."

"One of my men was injured last night," said Nemo. "I… I was hoping you could help. My own medics don't really know what to do with him."

He and Silver shared a significant glance.

"I'll see what I can do," said Silver, "but I don't think it'll be much. I'm just an old cyborg, not a healer."

"I might be able to help," said Starr softly. "Depends on the wound."

"It's not a pretty sight, lass."

"I'd still like to help, if I can."

"She helped a lot on Treasure Planet," supplied Jim.

"Jim, tha' was just the Cap'n's arm and broken ribs," said Silver. "This sounds a lot worse."

"How badly is he injured?" said Starr.

Nemo sighed. "The front part of his skull has been crushed and he's got several severe burns."

"I can't treat tha'," said Silver. "I said I know the basics."

"I don't know what to do with his head," said Starr. "That's… I'm sorry, but he probably won't make it. Rinse the burns thoroughly with cold water. Keep cool, wet cloths on them and keep him as comfortable as you can. Don't put any ice on the burns."

Nemo nodded. "That's what my medics said. Silver, are you sure there's…"

"I don't care what caused it, a broken head like tha' is beyond me!" snapped Silver.

"Right. I'm going back to check on him." Nemo pushed his chair back and headed down another passageway. Silver went to look at the engine room, and Starr and Jim went back to the library.


	14. Chapter 14

Starr looked up from the volume about space travel she'd been reading. "Jim?"

"Yeah?"

"We need a way to communicate. Silently."

Jim's eyebrows shot up. "Oh?"

"Suppose we want to talk to each other about escapes and stuff when Nemo's around? And I could've told you about the squid thing earlier."

Jim nodded. "That would come in handy. What were you thinking? Morse code? We've started learning that, but I'm not great at it yet."

Starr shook her head. "No, that's a bit too complex and too easy to misread. I was thinking about sign language. Specifically, finger spelling. Other sign language can be more… conspicuous."

"Okay." Jim set down his book and sat up. "Teach me, then."

Starr handed him a piece of paper and a pencil. "Here. You're good at drawing. I'll start making the signs and you draw them."

"I really hate drawing hands."

"We all hate drawing hands, Jim. Believe me, yours are far better than mine. There's a sign for each letter of the alphabet. It can be hard to read if you're going really fast and it's a bit cumbersome, but it should do."

"Alright." Jim readied the pencil and paper. "Start going."

"This is an A…"

~*~

"You were right," said Captain Nemo.

They were eating breakfast again the next day. Nemo was silent and subdued, the traces of tears on his cheeks.

"About what?" Starr frowned, setting down her fork. "Are you… _oh._"

"My crewman died last night."

"I'm sorry."

"We're headed back outside the Etherium for the funeral. All of the crew except those necessary to man the ship are coming. I'd like you to join us."

Starr expected Silver to grumpily refuse, but instead he nodded. "We'll be there."

Jim looked at him curiously, then back to Starr. She began moving her hand slowly, Jim forming the letters with her to show that he understood. _Squid._

Silver'd almost been killed by one, and he wanted to show his respect for someone who had.

A few hours later, they were gathered in the hangar and filing into one of the larger pods. The crew of the _Nautilus_ was smaller than Starr'd expected, and all walked with their heads bowed low. Several were carrying a stretcher with a white-wrapped figure on it.

Starr, Silver, and Jim slipped on after the crew and took their seats. The pod pulled away from the ship and into space and Starr found herself staring out the window again. Silver was morosely silent, staring gloomily down at his cyborg limbs. Morph cooed anxiously and nuzzled him, but was unable to coax a smile.

"I'm alright, Morph," Silver murmured, patting him. Starr tore herself away from the window and leaned her head against Silver's shoulder.

"'m sorry," she murmured.

"It's alright, lass."

Jim rested his elbows on his knees, cupping his chin in his hands. He closed his eyes and sighed dismally.

"Jim?" Starr squinted at him around Silver.

"I've gotta get out of here."

"We'll get out, Jimbo," whispered Silver. "Don't ye worry about that."

"Yeah, but what if we don't?" said Jim. "What happens if those things attack again? I don't want to die stuck in a stealth ship with my head crushed in by a giant space squid!"

Silver stiffened. "How did ye…"

"We're not stupid, Silver," said Starr. "I saw the tentacles out the window and noticed the way you were acting and put two and two together."

"It was pretty obvious once she pointed it out," said Jim.

Silver sighed, shaking his head. "I was just tryin' to protect ye. The squid are one thing when we're safe onboard a ship, but another when ye're lookin' 'em in the eye."

"I know." Starr pulled her knee up to her chest. "I probably wouldn't have guessed if it hadn't been for the tentacles."

"Yes, it was one o' them blasted squid. I'm not sure why Nemo wanted te drug ye, but I thought it'd be easier than sittin' up and listenin' to it bangin' against the hull all night. He won't be too happy if he figures out ye know what happened."

"He's ridiculously secretive," muttered Starr.

"Aye, no kiddin'. Now, Jimbo, listen here." Silver looked at Jim, who stared numbly back at him. "I promise ye, we'll get out o' here, and ye won't be dyin' by any giant squids while I can help it."

Jim nodded wearily and Starr gave him a worried smile. He leaned back in his chair and put his hands behind his head without returning it.

Soon, they arrived at the nebula that Jim and Starr had explored. The service for the crewman was short, Captain Nemo describing how he'd sacrificed himself for the crew and would now rest among the stars. The body was placed in the airlock, then gently pushed out by a few suited crewmen. Starr shivered, clutching Silver's arm as she watched the white form drift off into the distance. Jim had gone pale and she knew they were sharing the same thought.

Drifting out there, forever. At the exact same speed. Never decaying, never slowing. Just… continuing until something got in their way. They'd come _so close_ to sharing that fate.

"It looks lonely, doesn't it?" said Silver.

"An old friend once told me that if you want to cross the universe, you need a hand to hold," said Starr softly. Silver gave her shoulder a squeeze.

The trip back to the _Nautilus_ was silent, everyone mulling over the death of the crewman. As they filed back onto the ship, Starr realized that there were tears in Jim's eyes. She frowned, putting a hand on his shoulder. "Jim?"

"Hmm?"

"You alright?"

"I'm fine." Jim brushed her off and moved to walk away.

"You wanna talk about it?"

Jim hesitated, staring at the floor.

"You don't have to if you don't want to, but it's pretty obvious you're not fine."

He shuddered, his hands clenching into fists. "With the funeral and everything… it just hit me," he said softly.

"What hit ye, Jimbo?" asked Silver.

"We really _could_ die out here. It's… it's not… it's not really the squid I'm afraid of." He took a shaky breath. "I don't want to… to die… so far from Mom."

Silver put an arm around the boy's shoulders. "I told ye, lad. Nobody's dyin' if I can help it."


	15. Chapter 15

Something had changed on the _Nautilus_ after the crewman's death. Nemo and Silver seemed to have abandoned their truce and Starr heard them yelling at each other as she wandered the halls. Nemo himself became more dark and brooding, reminding Starr strongly of Jim when he was in a sulk. He avoided them whenever possible, though she would often look up when reading in the library to find him in the doorway, staring longingly at his son. He would always turn away as soon as he was spotted.

"I can't take much more of this," said Jim. It was a few days after the squid incident and he was curled up on a chair in Starr's cabin. She sat across from him on her bed, working a bit of yarn around her fingers.

"I know what you mean," she sighed. "This keeps getting worse and worse."

Jim began pacing restlessly, running his fingers through his hair. "I'm sick of being cooped up in here! Traveling is nice, but I want out!"

Starr smiled softly. "Remember when we used to ride your solar surfer back in Montressor and you'd pull the craziest stunts?"

"And you'd scream your head off?"

"Hey!" Starr grinned at him. "In my world, we don't have solar surfers. The closest thing I'd ever done was ride a snowboard and I hated every second of it."

"But you don't hate the solar surfer."

"Partially because flying is way cooler than sliding down a snowy slope with a board strapped to your legs… and partially because I wasn't the one doing the steering."

Jim chuckled and opened his mouth to reply, but was cut off by the loud blaring of an alarm. The lights flashed red and the ship lurched abruptly, sending them sprawling.

"What the…" Jim climbed to his feet and threw open the door. They staggered out into the hall, bumping into Silver along the way.

"Silver?" gasped Starr, clutching him to keep her balance. "What's happening?"

"I don't know, lass," said Silver shortly. "Keep close, now."

The three made their way through the halls and dodged crewmembers who were bustling about. Finally, they made it to the bridge.

"NEMO!" bellowed Silver, bursting through the door. "What in the blue blazes is goin' on here?"

Nemo's head jerked up and he glared at them. "You three should stay in your cabins."

"Oh, no you don't." Jim scowled, crossing his arms. "You're not shutting us away this time."

Starr stared out the window, her eyes widening. "That's… that's a ship! From the Procyon Expanse!"

An electric blast hit the vessel, knocking it sideways. It righted itself and fired back at them, but its cannons were clearly weakened. Starr rushed to the window, clenching her hands into fists. "There's _people_ on that ship!"

"Of course there are!" snorted Nemo. "It's a ship."

"No, there's _people _on it!"

Jim joined her at the window. "She means civilians. There's a woman with a child up there!"

Nemo sent another charge at the ship, this one blowing a massive hole in it's side. Shrapnel flew everywhere and they could faintly hear screaming. Civilians raced about frantically, parents trying to shield their children. The mother Jim had spotted fell with a wooden stave in her side.

"Nemo!" cried Jim, tugging at his arm. "Stop it!"

"Get off of me!" Nemo shook him off and fired again. His face was lined with fury.

"The lad's right!" barked Silver. "They've had enough!"

Nemo snarled wordlessly, firing again. Another hole blasted into the side of the ship. More people down, more blood coating the decks. A lost little boy stood on the deck, wailing for his parents.

"No!" Jim grabbed his arm again, struggling to wrest the controls from his grasp. "Dad! Stop it! You'll destroy them!"

"They destroyed me!" growled Nemo. He powered up the engine and began flying straight towards the crippled ship.

"Dad, _stop!_" pleaded Jim.

"Nemo!" Silver tried to shove him away, but Nemo ducked under his arm. The Nautilus flew faster and faster, then ripped right through the heart of the ship. Sparks and pieces of wood flew everywhere as they tore through the engine room. Blood spattered against the window and Starr shrieked. She and Silver stood frozen, too shocked to react. Morph whimpered, diving into Starr's pocket and quivering.

Jim let out a yell, finally managing to shove his father away from the controls. _"You didn't have to do that!"_ he gasped. "They didn't do anything to you!"

The _Nautilus _emerged on the other side of the ship and Nemo tore himself away from Jim, turning the ship around and preparing for another pass. Silver's fists clenched and his cyborg eye turned red. "Nemo, stop this!"

Nemo ignored him, continuing to turn the ship's wheel. Silver ripped him away from the controls and Nemo kicked his leg out from under him, sending him to his knees. Then Jim flew at him again. They grappled for a moment, then Nemo shoved him violently to the ground. They both froze, staring at each other and breathing heavily.

"Jim…" whispered Nemo.

A metal fist collided with his jaw, sending him sprawling against his displays. Silver snarled at him. "I don't care what they did to ye, that was too far."

Nemo panted, rubbing at his jaw. He glanced at Jim, who had backed away and was staring up at him with horrified eyes.

"What _happened_ to you?" Jim breathed. "Why would you do that."

"Jim, I'm sorry."

Jim shook his head, climbing to his feet. "No. No, you're not."

"Jim!"

"Don't! Just don't! I don't want to hear it! I don't want to hear _anything_ from you ever again!" Jim fled from the room without looking back. Starr stared up at Nemo for another horrified moment before following.

"Nemo, I was a pirate," spat Silver. "I've done some terrible things in my day, but I _never_ attacked a ship without reason. Sometimes the reasons weren't the best, but they were always there. Ye had no call to destroy them!"

"The Procyon Expanse destroyed me," said Nemo. "It's only fair I destroy something of theirs in return."

Silver shook his head and left, muttering darkly to himself.

The teens were both out in the hall. Jim was breathing raggedly, tugging at his hair with wild eyes. Starr, who hardly ever held completely still, wasn't moving. She was just leaning against the wall, her arms wrapped around her waist, staring at nothing. Silver sighed, guiding both of them back to his cabins. Once they were safely inside, Jim began to cry in earnest. Silver hugged him gently.

"I'm sorry, Jimbo. Even I wouldn'ta done a ting like tha'."

Jim sniffed, pulling away from Silver and rubbing his sleeve across his face. "If that's how he turned out… I'm glad he left."

Starr sat down limply on a bunk, with her arms still wrapped around her waist. Still staring at nothing, a few tears trickling down her cheeks. Silver sighed, putting a hand on her shoulder. "We're getting out o' here. Tomorrow night."

Jim nodded weakly, sinking down next to Starr and burying his head in his arms. Lindsey slowly put an arm around him.

"Listen up, now," Silver continued. "Here's the plan."


	16. Chapter 16

The next day passed in tense silence. The three of them worked together to gather food, water, and other necessities. Nemo was nowhere to be seen. That night, Starr and Jim sat up in Jim's cabin, both too anxious to sleep.

"How're you doing?" asked Starr.

"Fine." Jim pulled his knees up to his chest and rested his arms on them.

"You sure?"

"I just wanna go home."

She sighed, putting a hand on his shoulder. "Me, too."

Silver entered the room, Morph floating around him. He frowned at them. "I thought I told ye to get some rest."

"Couldn't sleep," said Starr.

"Well, it's time te get goin'."

"Finally," muttered Jim. He stood up and pulled his bag over his shoulder, Starr following suit. Silver led them out into the hall.

At first, it all went well. They avoided the places where crewmen were on duty and slipped through the halls. There were a few seconds of panic when Starr nearly knocked a vase over, but no major mishaps.

Then the alarms started again. Starr jumped, giving a strangled yelp before Silver clamped a hand over her mouth.

"What in blazes…"

"Are you kidding me? _Again?"_ groaned Jim.

"Keep movin'!" Silver shoved them along. They hurried through the halls, the few crewmen they met ignoring their presence. Silver burst through the door of the hangar and ran up to one of the pods, Starr and Jim close behind them.

"What is it this time?" said Starr.

"I feel like we're about to find out," grunted Jim.

They climbed into the pod, Jim taking the pilot's seat. He shut the door and pulled away from the ship, steering carefully. Then a blinding light surrounded them, nearly sending them careening off-course.

"What was _that?"_ gasped Lindsey.

"I don't know, lass," said Silver. "Jimbo, are ye alright?"

"I'm having trouble steering her!" Jim grunted in frustration, giving the controls a violent wrench. Starr looked out one of the side windows and squeaked.

"Silver!"

"What is it?"

"The star!" She pointed frantically to a star off the port side. The surface was marbled, some areas blindingly bright and others as dark as the sky around them. Giant flares spouted from the sides and narrowly missed the pod.

"He's a madman!" breathed Silver. "Nemo's a bloody madman, tryin' te get through tha'!"

"What does that make us?" snorted Jim.

'We don't have te get through it, just around it!"

Jim nodded, steering the pod away from the violent star. Another flare burst out and sent them spinning out of control. They flipped upside down and Starr clutched her harness in a white-knuckled grip.

"Jimbo!" cried Silver, straining at the harness.

Starr's breath caught as she saw him. He was slumped in the pilot's seat, a trickle of blood at the base of his hairline. Morph flew up to him and began licking his face frantically.

"Jim!" cried Starr. "Jim, wake up!"

"Hnng… wha… oh!" Jim jolted upright, then gasped. "Ow, my head. What… ship. Right."

Silver growled, trying to untangle himself from the harness. "Jim, let me fly the…"

"No." Jim hunkered resolutely over the controls. "I'm the only one who actually knows how to do this." A small smile lighting his face, he steered them away from the flares.

"Another one at two o'clock!" cried Starr.

Jim dodged it, barely, then sent her a glare. "That was nowhere _near_ two o'clock!"

"Sorry! I'm bad with clocks! And visual-spatial stuff!"

It was a tense few minutes. Jim dodged flares and debris expertly, but the strain clearly showed on his face. At one point a piece of rock clipped them and nearly sent them right into the path of another flare. Then, finally, they were out. Jim groaned, slumping at the controls, then began to laugh weakly.

"Jim?" Starr finally managed to undo her harness and hurried over to him.

"We're alive." Jim gave her a dazed grin. "We did it."

"Tha' we did, lad." Silver eased him out of the pilot's seat and onto the floor. "Thanks te ye. Tha' was some fine flyin'."

Starr chuckled. "Why is it that whenever we find ourselves in these messes, your flying skills come to the rescue."

"Dunno." Jim shrugged, then winced. "Just good at it."

"Yeah, no kidding. Now, lemme take a look at your head."

"But the pod," protested Jim. "Somebody's gotta fly the pod."

"I can figure it out, Jimbo," said Silver.

"Lemme show you. _Then_ you can look at my head."

Starr sighed, crossing her arms. "Fine."

They spent the next day drifting in space. Silver - with some pointers from Jim - flew the pod and tried to figure out where the nearest civilized planet was while Starr tried to take care of Jim. Really what that entailed was a lot of bickering.

"Can't you just Travel to figure out where we are?" said Jim.

"No, I can't. Even if I _could_ go to a planet or ship or something, I wouldn't know where _our_ position is relative to theirs."

"Well, that's just great."

"I don't like it anymore than you do."

"Then why don't you just go home if this bothers you so much?"

"Because you're my friend, you moron! I'm not leaving now."

Jim glared at her and started to get up, but groaned and fell backwards. "Ugh. Why is the universe still spinning?"

"Because you have a concussion and you need rest. Hold. Still."

"Stop being such a mother-hen! I'm fine."

"Stop being such an idiot! You're not."

"Jimbo! Starr!" Silver glared at them. "Do ye want me to drop ye back off wit' Cap'n Nemo?"

"Well," said Starr, "It's a stealth ship so I doubt you could find it and…" Silver glared harder and she winced, dropping her eyes. "No. Sorry."

"Then let's have some peace an' quiet! Why don't ye try to sleep?"

"Fine," grumbled Jim. He pulled off his jacket, crushed it into a ball, and sprawled across several seats. Starr sat with her arms wrapped loosely around her legs, staring out the window. Her foot tapped against the edge of the seat. Within moments, both of them were asleep.


	17. Chapter 17

Dr. Doppler was getting worried. It'd been three weeks since Jim, Starr, and Silver had vanished, and Sarah Hawkins was inconsolable. She'd claimed to have somehow gotten a message from Starr explaining that they were captive on an invisible stealth ship called the _Nautilus_. How she'd gotten the message, Sarah refused to say. In the meanwhile, she'd struck up quite the friendship with Kate Blake. The pair were nearly inseparable.

Amelia entered their cabin, startling him from his reverie. He smiled at her warmly. "Good evening, dear."

"Good evening, Delbert." Amelia sat down next to him, resting a hand on his knee.

"Any luck?"

"Not a blasted sign of anything." Amelia sighed, shaking her head. "The rest of Pew's gang is still out and about, and there's no sign of any sort of stealth ship."

"Amelia, I just wanted to say… I am so sorry that our honeymoon turned into a pirate chase."

Amelia chuckled wryly. "Stuff and nonsense. It's not your fault. Besides, I rather prefer this. A bit more fun, don't you think?"

"I've always liked your definition of fun. If only we hadn't lost the youngsters."

Amelia nodded in agreement. "I don't quite believe they're dead, Delbert. Sarah's stealth ship theory may hold some merit. It did appear that they were whisked away from under our noses, though how she got the information is still beyond me."

Doppler had just opened his mouth to reply when startled cries came from above.

"Ship! There's a ship! Off the port bow!"

The two stared at each other for a moment.

"Do you think…?" asked Doppler.

"Perhaps!" Amelia bolted out of her seat, rushing out the door and up the stairs. Doppler followed close behind her.

Up on the deck was Kate Blake, pointing eagerly to a small, battered pod. Sarah stood next to her, clutching a shawl about her shoulders.

"Please, Jim, _please_," she murmured.

Kate gave her hand a squeeze.

"Bring it into the hangar!" ordered Blake. "Keep your weapons prepared. We've got no idea what's in it."

He headed down there immediately, followed closely by the others. They all watched as the pod maneuvered itself into the hangar. Once the bay doors had closed, the pod door creaked open. Sarah's face turned a shade paler and she caught her breath.

"Hello in there?" called Amelia. "We have you surrounded. Come out, in the name of the Royal Navy."

A hulking figure appeared in the door, one arm flesh and the other made of metal. Long John Silver stepped out of the pod, sighing in relief as he saw who greeted him.

"Silver!" cried Sarah. "Jim… Starr… are they…"

"Mom!" A blur of dark jacket and brown hair rushed out of the pod and flung his arms around Sarah. It was Jim Hawkins, battered and bruised but very much alive.

"Jim!" Sarah wrapped him securely in her arms. "Oh, Jim. You're alive!"

"I'm alive," he choked.

Sarah held him at arm's length for a moment, reaching up to brush away the tears that had gathered in his eyes. Then she hugged him again. "James Pleiades Hawkins, don't you ever scare me like that again!"

"I… I won't, Mom."

"Oh, my precious boy. What happened to your head?"

"Rough takeoff." Jim gave her a weak smile. "I'm alright, really."

Sarah noticed Starr standing off to the side and wrapped her in an embrace as well. "Oh, honey. I'm so glad you're okay."

"Me, too." Starr smiled wanly, swiping at a stray tear. She pulled away and froze, muffling a giggle.

Jim Hawkins and Kate Blake were staring at each other.

"Kate!" Jim gave a nervous laugh, rubbing at his neck with one hand.

"Jim!" Kate grinned awkwardly. "I'm glad you're alright."

"Yeah, I'm… glad I'm alright, too." Jim grinned back, then swayed on his feet.

"Come on, Jim." Sarah put an arm around him, leading him up the stairs. "We need to get you cleaned up. And I'll bet you need a good night's sleep."

"I'll get Starr settled," Kate called after her. She steered Starr out of the way from the rest of the group, glancing over her shoulder.

"So," said Starr. "Kate. You're a friend of Jim's?"

Kate nodded. "Sarah told me about you, Starr."

Starr's eyebrow shot up. "Oh?"

"You're a Traveler. That's why you're here. The thing is… I'm one, too."

"Really?" Starr's eyes lit up.

"And I need your help. Something is going very, very wrong."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And that's a wrap! I'm currently working on a sequel, but I can't say when it'll be posted.


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